Assam Ponders Increased Herbal Medicine Education

Countries all over the world, and especially the developing world, are taking a different approach to their herbal traditions than the American approach, which seems focused primarily on protecting the medical monopoly of doctors, drug companies and insurance companies.

In another example of the more enlightened approach being taken elsewhere, renowned herbal medicine specialist Dr Gunnaram Khonikar appealed to the Government of Assam “to include and introduce herbal medicines in the school syllabus so that students would be able to identify medicinal plants with their medicinal properties and cultivation as well as preservation.”

Report from the Assam Tribune brought to you by the Hindustan Times

GMP Gems

from the U.S. cGMPs for Dietary Supplements
by James Prochnow

The CGMPs for dietary supplements do not apply to dietary ingredient manufacturers, labelers, packers and those who hold dietary ingredients unless and only if a dietary ingredient is sold in bulk and then repackaged and, without further processing, is sold as a single component dietary supplement. Read more

Proposed Supplement Good Manufacturing Practices

Final Rule on Dietary Supplement cGMP Released
from AHPA

(June 22, 2007) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has posted its final rule on current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) for dietary supplements at its website and will soon publish the rule in the Federal Register. The agency has simultaneously posted a related interim final rule that allows for submission to, and review by, FDA of an alternative to required 100-percent identity testing of dietary ingredient, as discussed within the cGMP itself, provided certain conditions are met. These documents are on the FDA’s website HERE and HERE

Additional information is at FDA’s home page. Read more

Grapefruit Seed Extract

Grapefruit Seed Extract is promoted as a safe, effective antimicrobial for internal use and natural preservative for body care products. One problem. It doesn’t work. Oh, two problems. If it does work, it’s because it’s spiked with synthetic preservatives. Several studies have now found one or more of several synthetics, none of which is approved for internal consumption.

HRF president Rob McCaleb presented a research update on GSE at Supply Side West in October, 2007. The Powerpoint presentation is available online, HERE.