American Herbal

Cichoke, A.J., Secrets of Native American Herbal Remedies, Penguin Putnam, New York, 2001. 

McGuffin, M., Hobbs, C., Upton, R., and Goldberg, A., Eds., American Herbal Products Association s Botanical Safety Handbook, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1997. 

Widely prescribed for asthma and bronchitis, and often combined with Euphorbia and Yerba Santa for the former complaint. The paroxysms are quickly reduced both in sharpness and frequency. Figures prominently in the American herbal materia medica. 

American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) www.ahpa.org... 

Upton, R., Bilberry fruit Vaccinium myrtillus L. American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, Santa Cruz, CA, 2001. 

There are several limitations that lead to potential for patient harm with the current regulation of herbals under the DSHEA. First, botanical nomenclature is not standardized. Common names for herbals may vary depending on the region of the country. A single herb may have more than a dozen common names (e.g., echinacea), or one common herbal name may refer to several different species (e.g., yellowroot and snakeroot). To avoid confusion, the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) has published Herbs of Commerce, a text of more than 500 herbs with the preferred common name, Latin binomial, and appropriate synonyms. 

Although there is limited information regarding the therapeutic efficacy and standards for herbals some resources do exist. The most widely recognized source is the German E Commission E monographs, which contain information on more than 300 herbal products. Other well referenced resources include the American Herbal Pharmacopeia, the British Herbal Pharmacopeia (BHP), the British Herbal Compendium, the European Scientific Cooperative for Phytomedicines (ESCOP), the U.S. Pharmacopeia, and the World Health Organization (WHO). 

OEP is regulated as a dietary supplement in the United States. It is approved in Canada as an over-the-counter product for use in EFA-deficiency conditions and as a dietary supplement to increase EFA intake. In the United Kingdom, it is on the General Sales List. In Germany, OEP is approved for use as food and is approved there in the treatment and symptomatic relief of atopic eczema. In Sweden, OEP is classified as a natural product. OEP has a Class 1 Safety Rating with the American Herbal Product Association (1,2,7). 

The National Institute of Health, Office of Alternative Medicine is setting out to research herbal therapies and other alternative therapies. The United States Pharmacopeia (USP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the American Herbal Pharmacopeia (AHP) are developing herbal therapeutic monographs. 

Polygalaceae), Virginia (Aristolochia serpentaria, Aristolochiaceae) and white snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum, Asteraceae). In the United States, a list of standardized common names called Herbs of Commerce (American Herbal Products Association, 1992) was adopted by the FDA as the only permitted source for common names on product labeling. Products that contain plants not listed in Herbs of Commerce are required to use the correct Latin name of the plant on the label. In addition to difficulties with nomenclature, problems have arisen because of the difficulty in determining exactly which plants are present in a finished product. Capsules that contain more than one plant and/or a dried crude extract make identification of the plant(s) by traditional means such as microscopy virtually impossible (Betz et al., 1995). Determination of the identity of a misidentified plant then becomes a matter of looking for specific toxic chemical constituents, which is usually a needle in a haystack approach unless symptoms are characteristic of a particular compound. Good quality assurance of raw material obviates the need for this detective work. 

American Herbal Products Association (1992) Foster, S. (ed.), Herbs of Commerce, American Herbal Products Association, Austin, TX. 

American Herbal Products Association 2004b. Does an Organic Label Matter for Herbal Products . American Herbal Products Association, Silver Springs, MD. 

Upton, R. 1999. Hawthorn Leaf with Flowers (Crataegus spp.) . American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, Soquel, CA. 

The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), which was founded in 1983 to promote the responsible commerce of products that contain herbs, is now in the United States the national trade association and voice of the herbal products industry. It is comprised of companies doing business as growers, manulacturers, and marketers of herbs and herbal products. AHPA has been active in creating standards for herbal products, and has done so by drawing on the expertise of its members and their extensive experience. 

American Herbal Pharmacopoeia and Therapeutic Compendium -St. John s Wort- Hypericum perforatum, 1997. 

The American Herbal Products Association has established a trade requirement (AREA 2011) that all products with... 

AHPA. July 2011. Code of Ethics Business Conduct. Silver Spring, MD American Herbal Products Association. Majlathova, L. 1971. [Feeding trial with alkannin on mice]. Nahrung 15(5) 505-508. 

AHPA. July 2011. Code of Ethics Business Conduct. Silver Spring, MD American Herbal Products Association. 

Upton, R. 2003. Dang gui root Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels Standards of analysis, quality control, and therapeutics, American Herbal Pharmacopoeia and tfwrapeutic compendium. Scotts Valley, CA American Herbal Pharmacopoeia. 

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