The United States Pharmacopeia (USP), Rockville, MD, has established an advisory panel on botanicals. The new USP Botanical Advisory Panel will advise USP’s Dietary Supplements-Botanicals Expert Committee on the development of information on botanicals pertaining to historical use, botanical identification, global regulatory status, good agricultural practices and handling, which will supplement the standards in the United States Pharmacopeia and National Formulary (USP-NF). In addition, the panel will explore the feasibility of developing Authentic Plant Reference Materials (APRM). After the first meeting in No­vember last year, the panel agreed to focus its efforts on valerian, ginger, black cohosh and saw palmetto, which also have USP monographs. The panel also plans to create additional information chapters in the USP-NF.