Mark Blumenthal is the founder and executive director of the American Botanical Council (ABC), the leading independent, non-profit organization dedicated to disseminating accurate, reliable and responsible information on herbs and medicinal plants. He is the editor/publisher of HerbalGram, an international, peer-reviewed quarterly journal. For six years he was an adjunct associate professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin, College of Pharmacy, teaching the course “Herbs and Phytomedicines in Today’s Pharmacy.” Mark is the senior editor of the English translation of The Complete German Commission E Monographs—Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines (1998), Herbal Medicine: Expanded Commission E Monographs (2000), The ABC Clinical Guide to Herbs (2003) and Rational Phytotherapy, 5th edition (2004). He has appeared on more than 400 radio and television shows and has written more than 500 articles, reviews and book chapters for many major publications. Recently, his name appeared with some of the most prestigious names in the natural health movement when he was awarded Natural Health Magazine’s Hall of Fame Award for “…opening America’s eye to the healing powers of herbs.” He has been a leader in the concerns for more rational regulations of herbal and natural product manufacturing, and education on alternative medicines for more than 36 years.

Health E-Insights: How is ABC responding to changes in the supplement industry?

Mr. Blumenthal: In principle, the ABC’s non-profit educational mission and programs are not geared directly to deal with the herb and/or dietary supplement industry. Hence, ABC does not always respond to changes in the supplement industry per se. Unlike numerous trade organizations whose mission is to promote and protect the interests of industry, ABC is not an industry trade organization. ABC is an independent, non-profit, tax-exempt organization (under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS tax code) and the role that ABC plays in the United States, and well beyond, addresses the interests of and needs of people and organizations in a wide area, which we at ABC refer to as the herb and medicinal plant “community,” and beyond.
 
ABC members who are non-voting include researchers such as ethnobotanists, pharmacognosists, pharmacologists and natural products chemists; health professionals, both alternative and integrative as well as conventional; universities, libraries, botanical gardens and arboreta; government agencies, industry members, consumers, and others in more than 80 countries. As an educational organization, ABC attempts to report on the growing and wide area of clinical research on medicinal and other beneficial plants and their products. ABC also reports on numerous issues and trends, which ABC believes are important for the herb community in general, and frequently, the commercial subset of this community, such as the industry. Such reporting deals with quality control of herbal ingredients and products, conservation issues, fair trade certification and other important and emerging trends, providing extensive, peer-reviewed, reliable and authoritative information for ABC’s wide variety of stakeholders.
 
Health E-Insights: How do you evaluate success at ABC?

Mr. Blumenthal: ABC seldom attempts to set metrics for success of its educational publications and programs. ABC believes that it is involved in a long-term program to affect positive social and cultural change in consumers, health professional, educators, researchers, regulators, the media and members of the industry regarding the benefits and appropriateness of plant-based ingredients and products in self-care and healthcare. As far as ABC is concerned, this is like working on a long-term political campaign, but there is no election, there is no definitive end-point. While we do track some metrics, including my 57 speeches, presentations and webinars in 2010, and participating in 94 media interviews in 2010, these are simply seen as part of ABC’s mission delivery, not a goal or a “success.” ABC has been promoting its non-profit educational mission since 1988, and I have been publishing ABC’s flagship publication, HerbalGram, since 1983, brining news about new research to a growing group of interested parties. When we started doing this, there was no Internet, no e-mail or e-newsletters, not even faxes. HerbalGram was initially a newsletter (in 1988), and has grown into a beautiful, four-color, peer-reviewed journal. And, as the electronic and digital world has grown, there have been many other groups, organizations and publications, which are publishing scientific and clinical information on herbs and related plant materials. So, perhaps one way to measure ABC’s success is to look at all other ways people can now access scientific herbal information, such opportunities not being available 30 years ago. As an independent non-profit organization with a wide educational mission, ABC does not see other organizations and publications which produce or disseminate herbal science information as competition. We see it as part of the growing acceptance and validation of ABC’s educational mission. To us this is a form of success.
 
Health E-Insights: If you were a plant, what would it be and why?

Mr. Blumenthal: Possibly wild ginseng. Ginseng tends to live a long time, is known for its wide variety of activities and benefits, is tonic without being stimulating, is able to survive during periods of draught. The only probable difference would be that wild ginseng is highly prized and esteemed in some circles.
 
Health E-Insights: What motivates you?

Mr. Blumenthal: I have a strong family background in community service. Both my parents and maternal grandparent modeled for me a strong sense of civic service. My mother and her mother were always with non-profit boards and were president of many community and religious non-profits. My father and my mother’s father, aside from running successful family businesses, were also on numerous boards and were presidents of many non-profits, charities, civic clubs and religious groups.
 
Health E-Insights: Do you have any pet peeves?

Mr. Blumenthal: The incorrect placement of the word only in sentences among news reporters. I hear it misused every day on NPR and other national media.
 
Health E-Insights: You’re quite the jokester. Can you share a good joke? Keep it clean.

Mr. Blumnethal: Why do Buddhists never vacuum their sofas? Because they have no attachments.       
 
For more information and interview consideration, contact Sheldon Baker at [email protected] or visit his website at www.BakerDillon.com. And check out his blog at www.NutraInk.com.