He’s an innovator because…he envisioned and created the American Botanical Council to provide an education forum to teach Americans about the benefits of herbs.

The Background:

Mark Blumenthal is founder and executive director of the American Botanical Council (ABC), Austin, TX, an independent non-profit organization dedicated to disseminating information on herbs and medicinal plants. He is editor/publisher of HerbalGram, an international peer-reviewed quarterly journal and senior editor of the English translation of The Complete German Commission E Monographs and the follow-up publication Herbal Medicine: Expanded Commission E Monographs. He also consulted on the final draft of the World Health Organization’s “Guidelines for the Assessment of Herbal Medicines” and participated as a reviewer of a research grant proposal made to the Office of Alternative Medicine at NIH. He testified before the Presidential Commission on Dietary Supplement Labels, presenting an overview of the Regulation of Botanicals and Phytomedicines in Europe. He has also testified twice before the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy on issues of developing incentives to stimulate botanical medicine research and programs that would include herbal medicine for continuing education. In 2001 he testified before Congress on international regulation of herbal medicines.

Words of Wisdom:

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced thus far?
“In the mid 1980’s I lost my herb company (Sweethardt Herbs, an herbal wholesale company), got divorced, lost my three-acre farm and was foreclosed on by the bank. The universe was giving me a major opportunity for growth and it was very humbling. From that (involuntary) letting-go process, the challenge for me was to reassess my values and assumptions of myself.

“Since then my biggest challenge with the American Botanical Council (ABC) continues to be dealing with the resistance of many in the conventional medical community and elsewhere, e.g. media, about the legitimacy and validity of herbs. My mission at ABC is to continue to be the wind and water against the cliff. In the long run we’ll wear away the resistance—if it’s destined to be—and win this battle. It is inevitable; we are a growing social trend that will continue, despite various setbacks.”

What should be the measure of success in our industry?

“Some members of the supplement industry need better quality control and label integrity; we need more rational regulations that include an ability to evaluate and acknowledge the therapeutic benefits of products and we need ways to evaluate herbs as determined by appropriate outside experts advising FDA. There should be a ‘doctrine of reasonable certainty’ on evaluating the efficacy of herbs; this is how the industry will remain successful. If industry members meet certain quality control parameters and can prove certain phytoequivalence, then they should be able to make therapeutic claims.

“The current challenge we face in our society is the lack of of­ficially recognized benefits for herbs, other than the literal handful that are OTC drugs. The problem is that adverse events and herb-drug interactions are seen against a blank screen be­cause there are not acknowledged official benefits. This is at the heart of the current media crisis with herbs; it is a media perception problem as well as a quality control problem.”

Where would you like to see your company/your work/your industry in five years?

“I would like to see increasing acceptance by the public and healthcare professionals. This is feasible, but the industry has to retrench; there will probably be a consolidation and weeding out before we see an increase in public acceptance. In the fundamental issues, the industry is losing consumer confidence. There needs to be a yet-to-be-created traditional medicinals category or we need to meet and use OTC standards.”

Are we making a difference?

“Absolutely. There is no question that we are making a difference. Thirty years ago, there was no yogurt in supermarkets, there were no products offered as meat substitutes, there was no whole grain bread, no vitamin C in grocery stores. We’ve come a long way.”

If you could change one thing, on an industry-wide scale, that would open up new opportunities for all industry, what would it be?

“I would implement a therapeutic claim structure a la Commission E and continue to help disseminate accurate, responsible information on herbs. It must be based both on science and a respect for tradition and there has to be a recognition of these products and how they are useful for health beyond structure/function language.”