World Health Organization Developing Traditional Medicine Classification

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced a project to classify traditional medicine. Having a reference of terminologies and classifications for diagnosis and interventions will "assist in creating an evidence base for traditional medicine"[1] and an international "platform" for "the harmonization of data for clinical, epidemiological and statistical use."

The project will begin with the traditional medicine practices and customs of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea that have spread worldwide and will utilize an interactive online platform. Traditional medicine practitioners will use the platform to document the terminology and the concepts they use.

The International Classification of Traditional Medicine (ICTM) "further illustrates WHO’s dedication to aiding traditional medicine’s globalization and integration into worldwide healthcare."[2] WHO's expected outcomes from the ICTM project include objective data on the benefits of traditional data, safety and use, and spending and trends; the ability to study the use of traditional medicine with disease prevention and treatment; and a universal classification system which would allow countries worldwide to base their research on the same data.

References
[1] WHO to define information standards for traditional medicine. Accessed 1/13/11 at http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2010/trad_medicine_20101207/en/
[2] Stafford, L. (2011). WHO Developing New Traditional Medicine Classification. HerbalEGram 8(1). Web. Accessed 1/13/11 at http://cms.herbalgram.org/heg/volume8/01January/WHOClassifiesTM.html?t=1294841964

Herbman Garden Project Teaches People about Medicinal Properties of Herbs and Cultural Uses

Have you heard about the Medicinal Herbman? We're just learning about it too! The Herbman varies in size and travels widely; he is always stretched out on the ground, which is how he teaches people about the herbs he grows.

Intrigued? The Medicinal Herbman is a project that uses a large, human body-shaped garden to teach people about the medicinal properties of herbs and their cultural uses. The Medicinal Herbman is part of the Medicinal Herbman Cafe Project from Earthscape, a Japanese landscape design team, which also includes an herbal cafe. The Herbman and the cafe travel to different locations as part of their goal to teach the public about herbs.

"In order to help illustrate herbs’ healing properties, the Earthscape team designs Herbman’s body as a map of herbs for treating specific bodily ailments," according to HerbalEGram. "When the project visited the Echigo-Tsumari region of Japan, for example, Geranium thunbergii, which is thought to aid digestion, was planted in the stomach area and Chinese mugwort (Artemisia argyi), which is thought to relieve shoulder stiffness, was planted in the shoulder area, said Nozomi Kobayashi, Earthscape’s public relations director (e-mail, February 22, 2010)."

The Medicinal Herbman Cafe Project visited three locations during the 2009 calendar year, and all of the proceeds from the Medicinal Herbman's cafe are used to build playgrounds and schoolyards in developing countries. According to the project's website, "Herbman in thinking about his next destination as he prepares for his trip in the early spring."

To learn more about this herbal medicine education project, check out the full-length article by the ABC's HerbalEGram, "Traveling Medicinal Herbman Garden Project," here: http://cms.herbalgram.org/heg/volume7/04April/HerbmanGardenProject.html?t=1269620617

Learn more from the Medicinal Herbaman Cafe Project website here: http://www.mhcp.jp/

Image (c) 2010 Medicinal Herbman Cafe Project: http://www.mhcp.jp/2nd/about/index.html

Strawberries: A Sweet, Vitamin-Rich Health Support

For those of you who may not know, the American Botanical Council offers free HerbClips on their website. Today they're featuring an HerbClip about rose hip bread and rose petal jelly, but last week the Clip was about strawberries and too sweet to pass up!

"The taste of a warm, juicy strawberry on a hot summer day is a delight to the mouth," wrote Lori Glenn, Managing Editor. "Even in February when southern California strawberries appear at the northern California farmer's markets, the sight of the red fruit is a joy they promise that better weather and a variety of berries will soon appear."

A signal of spring and summer to come, strawberries are not only sweet, their nutrient-rich too, as Glenn goes on to explain:

"Strawberries are a rich source of flavonoids, iron, folate, potassium, vitamins B, C and E, and phenols. In the strawberry, these phenols are led by anthocyanins and ellagitannins. The anthocyanins not only provide the strawberry's red color, but they also supply antioxidants. Strawberries' unique phenol content gives them heart-protective, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory abilities. Strawberries also have blood-purifying, astringent, diuretic, and liver-tonic properties. Medicinally, the fruit has been used to treat anemia, constipation, fevers, hangover, high blood pressure, gout, and rheumatism. Cut strawberries have even been used to whiten teeth and are said not to damage the enamel. In a recent study (see HC 110195-396), freeze-dried strawberries were found to lower cardiovascular disease risk factors in women with metabolic syndrome."

Eat up! Glenn suggests adding strawberries to a green salad with the addition of some chopped nuts and cheese drizzled with lemon and olive oil. How do you like your strawberries? If you have favorite, healthy strawberry recipes to share, please post them here!!

Also, yesterday's edition of The Oregonian included the article "Growing strawberries is deliciously easy here." According to the article, Oregon's climate is perfect for strawberries, but even if you don't live near ACHS in Oregon, there may be some use useful tips about planting, care, and harvest as well.

>> If you're interested in learning more about holistic nutrition, check out our new Nut 101 Introduction to Nutrition course here: http://www.achs.edu/course-desc.aspx?pid=196&id=4

Image (c) http://www.flickr.com/photos/sigusr0/1460105430/sizes/o/#cc_license

University of Illinois Botanical Symposium in Chicago March 23

The American Botanical Council (ABC) just let us know about a botanical symposium taking place next month in Chicago. The Developments in Botanical Dietary Supplements Research from 1994 to Today symposium will be held March 23 at the Holiday Inn, Mart Plaza, in Chicago.

The day-long botanical dietary supplements research symposium is being offered by the University of Illinois at Chicago Botanical Center (UIC), and will feature the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) head Dr. Paul Coates, as well as representation from NCCAM.

The symposium will feature scientists from the U.S. and abroad, who will talk about their botanical research. A full agenda is available from UIC. For more information, check out their website at: http://www.uic.edu/pharmacy/centers/uic_nih_botanical_dietary_supplement_research/news/Symposium_Agenda.php

For more information about supplements, check out Dr. Arianna Staruch's blog post "The How and Why of the Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010 Proposed by Senator McCain."

>> If you're interested in learning more about botanicals and nutrition, check out the ACHS website at www.achs.edu!

ABC teams with Healing Quest to create new segments about popular herbs

The American Botanical Council (ABC) has teamed up with Healing Quest to record segments for "Herbal Insights." Healing Quest is a public television show co-hosted by Olivia Newton-John featuring interviews with Mark Blumenthal, Deepak Chopra, MD, Andrew Weil, MD, and Marianne Williamson, among others.

The "Herbal Insights" segments are scheduled to run throughout the year. To find out when "Herbal Insights" will be aired near you, contact your local PBS station.

The first seven segments of "Herbal Insights" will profile the popular herbs chamomile (Matricaria recutita), peppermint (Mentha x piperita), ginger (Zingiber officinale), licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), marshmallow (Althaea officinalis), senna (Senna alexandrina), and slippery elm (Ulma rubra) bark.

To watch a Healing Quest segment featuring ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal, click on the link: http://www.healingquest.tv/docs/vidclips.html

ABC's Mark Blumenthal Clarifies Ginkgo Study on Health Talk Radio Show

The American Botanical Council (ABC) released a statement yesterday announcing that Mark Blumenthal, ABC founder and executive director, has "been working to publicly address misconceptions about ginkgo, resulting from a recent high-profile study."

Blumenthal was recently interviewed by Dr. Ronald Hoffman for the show Health Talk. During the interview, Blumenthal talked about a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), which "reported that a leading ginkgo extract did not reduce cognitive decline in older adults. Blumenthal pointed out that this study had many significant limitations, and he highlighted some of the many positive studies indicating ginkgo's effectiveness."

Here is a link to the press release the American Botanical Council sent out addressing the "limitations" of the JAMA study: http://abc.herbalgram.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=9801.0

Blumenthal's interview is available for download as a podcast here: http://www.wor710.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=4294989

Elderberry Extract for Easing Influenza Symptoms

Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) has been mentioned in health news quite a bit lately because of new research showing it may be effective with influenza. Clinical studies have "found that elderberry extracts can inhibit influenza a and b infections, and pre-clinical studies have shown antiviral effects," according to the American Botanical Council (ABC). [2]

A recent clinical pilot tested the effect of a proprietary slow-dissolve elderberry extract lozenge with flu-like symptoms and found, according to the study's author, that the proprietary extract "can rapidly relieve influenza-like symptoms." He further commented, as reported by ABC, that "the results suggest that the proprietary elderberry extract is superior to antiviral drugs in treating influenza-like symptoms and shortening the duration of illness."

>> To read the details of the study, visit the American Botanical Council website or click here: http://cms.herbalgram.org/herbclip/388/review100691-388.html

References:
1. King HF. Pilot clinical study on a proprietary elderberry extract: efficacy in addressing influenza symptoms. Online Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacokinetics. 2009;5: 32-43.
2. Garner-Wizard M. Review of pharmacology and clinical benefits of European elderberry. HerbClip. January 31, 2006 (No. 070752-297). Austin, TX: American Botanical Council. Review of Monograph. Sambucus nigra (elderberry). Altern Med Rev. 2005;10(1):51-55.
3. Roschek B Jr, Fink RC, McMichael MD, Li D, Alberte RS. Elderberry flavonoids bind to and prevent H1N1 infection in vitro. Phytochem. Jul 2009;70(10):1255-1261.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This information is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease.

Image (c) http://www.flickr.com/photos/keith_ritchie/298723413/sizes/m/#cc_license

ABC Executive Director’s Editorial Emphasizes Published Clinical Trials Supporting the Therapeutic Benefits of Leading Herbs

(April 23, 2009) The March/April issue of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine features a guest editorial by ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal, in which Blumenthal addresses one of the primary inaccuracies promoted by some critics of herbal medicine: the myth that clinical trial evidence shows many popular herbal preparations to be ineffective.

In his editorial, titled “Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses Support the Efficacy of Numerous Popular Herbs and Phytomedicines,” Blumenthal discusses how the public perception that certain herbs do not work has been misled by highly publicized randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with negative outcomes. These include RCTs of preparations made from herbs such as St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) to treat symptoms of mild to moderate depression, and echinacea (Echinacea spp.) to deal with upper respiratory tract infections related to colds and the flu.

Blumenthal goes on to cite numerous recently-published systematic reviews and meta-analyses of RCTs in which the above-mentioned herbal preparations were significantly more effective than placebo. In addition, he points out that some trials found herbs to be as effective, and safer, than conventional pharmaceutical medications used for the same purposes. Also included in this discussion are reviews of RCTs of garlic (Allium sativum) for lowering blood pressure, Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng) for erectile dysfunction, and hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) for aspects of congestive heart failure.

Blumenthal concludes the essay as follows:

All too frequently, however, glaring exposure in the media of one high-profile negative trial becomes “the conversation,” with the larger body of clinical research, as well as highly relevant epidemiological and other non-RCT-based data, being relegated to a cognitive Twilight Zone. Even critics of CAM and herbal medicine in particular, frequently fall into the trap of taking refuge under the high-profile negative trial in attempts to dismiss an entire herbal category and, by extension, all herbal preparations in sweeping generalizations that would never be countenanced in a freshman-level course in logic, much less the “evidence-based” practice of medicine.

Click here to read a PDF of the editorial is available on the Alternative Therapies website.

Reference
Blumenthal M. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses support the efficacy of numerous popular herbs and phytomedicines. Altern Ther Health Med. 2009;15(2):14-15.