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HERBCLIP
™
FILE: • Herb Market
DATE: January 15, 200000
Post Office Box 144345
Austin, Texas 78714-4345
Phone 512/926-4900
Fax 512/926-2345
Email: [email protected]
www.herbalgram.org
Mark Blumenthal
Editor
Wayne Silverman, PhD
Underwriting Coordinator
Leela Devi, MSN, RN
Marian Garner-Wizard
Betsy Levy
Heather Oliff, PhD
Risa Schulman, PhD
Densie Webb, PhD
Summary Writers
Karen Newton
Database Manager
Karen Robin
Susan McFarland
Coordinators
Dawnelle Malone
Research Assistant
The American Botanical
Council provides this summary and the enclosed article
as an educational service. By
providing this article, ABC
does not warrant that the data
is accurate and correct, nor
does distribution of the enclosed article constitute any
endorsement of the information contained or of the views
of the authors.
ABC does not authorize the
copying or use of the original
articles. Reproduction of the
summaries is allowed on a
limited basis for students,
colleagues, employees and/or
customers. Other uses and
distribution require prior
approval.
HC 111196
RE: Botanical Bloopers: Fads, Fallacies & Frauds
in the Herb Marketplace
Blumenthal, M. Botanical Bloopers. Whole Foods. July, 1999,
pp. 78 - 80; August, 1999, pp. 67 - 70.
Everybody makes mistakes, and some of those made over the past 20
years by herbal manufacturers and distributors, and by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), are reviewed in Mark Blumenthal's two-part article.
Some "bloopers" in the herbal industry may be attributed to its youth and
sometimes inadequate knowledge on the part of some of its members,
while others border on fraud. One example, predating the rest, exhibits
both factors and left thousands of people with neurological damage in the
1930s. During Alcohol Prohibition, a popular Jamaican ginger extract containing 70% alcohol featured a new, inexpensive additive, which turned
out to be toxic. While the neurotoxicity of tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate was
not well known at the time, accompanying claims that the drink was a
"headache remedy" were clearly intended as a cover for the alcohol. The
"Ginger Jake" episode, which produced permanent limping in some consumers called “Jake Leg,” and a spate of blues songs on this topic, is a
warning to manufacturers and regulators alike to ensure that good manufacturing practices and proper checking of all ingredients are given due
diligence.
Another example is the sale of canaigre (Rumex hymenosepalus) as "wild
red desert ginseng", an energy tonic, when in fact canaigre is traditionally
used for sore throat, and bears no chemical or botanical relationship to
Asian or North American ginseng (Panax spp). Internal industry education
and a policy statement by the Herb Trade Association, forerunner of the
American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), ended its popularity.
Caffeine presents a persistent labeling disclosure problem. Present in seven
plant species: coffee, tea, chocolate, yerba maté, guarana, cola, and yaupon
(Ilex vomitoria), most "authoritative references consider the compounds identical in chemical structure and pharmacological activity", caffeine in tea may
be called theine; that from guarana, guaranine; that from maté, mateine, etc.
Marketers of weight-loss products, energy supplements, and "natural stimulants" have claimed that they are "caffeine free" when in fact they contain caf-
feine, but from species other than coffee. Not only is this misleading, but, for
some caffeine sensitive people, it is a potential health hazard.
Selling herbs by common names, especially before the publication of the
AHPA Herbs of Commerce directory in 1992, has led to several herbal bloopers. "Missouri snakeroot," for instance, refers to both purple coneflower
(Echinacea purpurea) and prairie dock or wild quinine (Parthenium integrifolium). Unfortunately, German researchers announced the isolation of two
new sesquiterpene lactones from E. purpurea in the mid-1980s, only to find
that they had been working with supplies of Parthenium instead. Confusion in
names has also led to importation of misidentified herbs.
Examples of outright fraudulent marketing include questionable herbal alternatives to illegal drugs; a tea implied to treat, and possibly prevent, cancer
(with the unspecified ingredient "herbaline"); and bodybuilding formulas containing sarsaparilla, which claimed to contain testosterone, which no scientific
evidence supports and no analytic test has found.
On the other hand, bloopers committed by the FDA, can be seen in several
examples of policies and statements seemingly fueled by anti-herb sentiment.
A 1977 list of "Unsafe Herbs," including the now popular and relatively safe
herbs St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) and horse chestnut (Aesculus
hippocastanum). The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994
(DSHEA) did away with this list. At the time, however, the 27 herbs on this
list were banned from commerce in the U.S. Another 1977 FDA list, "Herbs of
Undefined Safety", included arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea), a widely used
cooking starch, and many other herbs whose safety was well known (at least
as far as knowledgeable herbalists were concerned). One, slippery elm (Ulmus rubra), was even approved by the FDA as a safe and effective over-thecounter drug when this policy guide was released.
Also in 1977, the FDA issued an import alert on all ginseng products, unless
labeled as “tea.” In the FDA's view, ginseng (Panax ginseng) in any form
other than as a beverage (i.e., capsule, extract) was an unsafe food additive,
based on the policy that food additives are deemed unsafe until proven safe.
Manufacturers responded by labeling capsules, tablets and even bulk ginseng
root powder as "tea." In 1988, the FDA issued import detentions on both
black currant oil (Ribes nigra) and evening primrose oil (Oenothera biennis),
saying that they were unsafe food additives. However, the FDA had no evidence of adverse reactions or even a shred of data to show them unsafe. In
court, the FDA admitted that black currant oil was safe taken by the spoonful,
but became unsafe if added to a gelatin capsule. Partly because of these incidents, in 1994 DSHEA specifically stipulated that herbs are not food additives.
Passage of DSHEA has not changed all of the FDA's illogical herbal policies.
Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana), a non-caloric natural sweetener, still can be imported only as a dietary supplement, and not as a sweetener. "The irony of
this is. . .self-evident: consumers ingest larger quantities of stevia in a dietary
supplement than they would if it were an ingredient in an herbal tea," Blumenthal writes.
An FDA report issued during the DSHEA debates recommended stricter herb
regulations without justification, attributed specific supplement claims to the
wrong manufacturers, and was issued without appropriate review, as required
by Federal procedures. This contributed to an agency reputation for bias
against the herbal and dietary supplement industry.
In a post-DSHEA example, the FDA recently tried to limit importation of Chinese red yeast rice (Monascus purpurea) because it contains a naturally occurring compound chemically similar to the prescription drug ingredient,
lovastatin. A federal court ruled that the product in question is a dietary supplement, not a drug. This case is on appeal.
Blumenthal stresses that all of these bloopers, both industry and agency, are
the exception and not the rule, and reminds readers that the issue of accuracy in dealing with herbs is the responsibility of everyone involved.
—Mariann Garner-Wizard
Enclosure:
Bin #168
Copyright © 1999, by Whole Foods. Reprinted with permission.