Members of the UK's herbal industry have proposed an overhaul of
current legislation to ensure stricter standards and safety for
those products not regulated by the new European Traditional
Medicinal Herbals directive.
Ingredients in Chinese herbal medicines may vary widely depending
on the manufacturer, said scientists speaking at a conference this
week. This could have implications for the safety and efficacy of
the medication, they suggest.
The EU's traditional herbal medicinal products directive will not
lead to the major loss of popular herbal products on the UK market
feared by many in the retail sector, suggests the latest estimate
from the country's medicines...
Drinking a cup of coffee is more likely to reduce muscle pain
during a workout than taking an aspirin, suggests a small study
from the US. But the researchers do not know if caffeine, found in
numerous sports nutrition products, acts...
Twelve people in Japan suffered from liver injury after taking two
kinds of Chinese herbal to lose weight, according to a brief
journal communication today.
UK doctors are being encouraged to support the use of herbal
remedies by the country's herbalists, currently trying to increase
understanding of the power of plant-based remedies during Herbal
Medicine Awareness Week.
A new breed of soft drink is making its debut in the functional
drinks sector. A blend of Chinese herbs and fruit juice, Firefly
provides health-conscious consumers with an energy drink with no
added sugar or artificial stimulants.
Natraceutical, the biotech subsidiary of Spanish cocoa products
group Natra, looks set to shift its focus away from caffeine
towards nutraceutical products, as it announces its third patent
application this year.
A review of black cohosh, said to be the most comprehensive to
date, finds it to be safe, just days after another study suggested
that the herb, taken as an alternative to HRT, could trigger the
spread of breast cancer.
US scientists are to present research on botanicals as dietary
supplements as part of the expanded seminar programme at SupplySide
West taking place in Las Vegas in October this year.
The UK Food Standards Agency has commissioned a study of the
possible association between maternal caffeine consumption and low
birthweight by the Universities of Leicester and Leeds in the UK.
Herbal teas may not be such a healthy alternative after all.
Researchers at the University of Bristol Dental School in the UK
reveal the potential damaging effects they may have on our teeth.
Norwegian and Japanese scientists have confirmed several culinary
and medicinal herbs as important sources of dietary antioxidants.
But they say there is more than a 1000-fold difference among
antioxidant concentrations.
The UK complementary medicines market has grown by almost 60 per
cent in the last five years to an estimated value of £130 million
(€187m), despite the impact of new legislation and negative
publicity regarding herbal remedies and...
The Caribbean herbal industry will be presenting its products to
the European market next month in a special exhibition at the
Natural Products show in London.
A new US/UK collaboration will research ways of increasing yields
in a range of herbal extract products used for medicinal purposes,
in order to make them more readily available.
Analysis distribution company LGC Promochem is to distribute the
ChromaDex reference standards, covering more than 2500 high purity
phytochemicals, to the herbal industry in Europe.
UK company Barefoot Botanicals introduced its Rosa Fina botanical
skin care products to the US market this week. The range which
contains rosehip seed oil, vitamins and natural antioxidants, is
the first to be launched by the company's...
Drinks containing caffeine can significantly affect children's
behaviour, report scientists in the US, who found that teenagers
who drink lots of fizzy drinks have trouble sleeping. They suggest
that such drinks are made less...
With an increasing interest in herbal alternatives to reduce
menopause symptoms after recent warnings about the side-effects of
HRT, medical experts warn that many alternatives do not always have
much success. A report in this month's...
European members of parliament have adopted a resolution for new
legislation on traditional herbal products which will require all
herbal medicines on sale in the European Union to be registered.
PC-SPES, a dietary supplement taken by some men to treat prostate
cancer, may compromise the effectiveness of chemotherapeutic drugs
for the disease, such as paclitaxel, according to a new study.
Caffeine could one day be used to cure skin cancer, according to US
scientists who have found that the stimulant combined with an
extract from green tea can kill cancer in mice. More research will
be required to find out whether the...
Coffee, tea and chocolate all contain chemicals that could
eventually form the basis of new drugs to combat cancer and heart
disease. Scientists at UCL in London report on their findings in in
the August issue of the Journal of Biological...
A medical investigation of chronic lead poisoning in a woman, who
gave birth at an Adelaide hospital in Australia, has found it was
caused by imported herbal tablets.
Four new herbal confectionery products have been launched by
Canadian company Kitsune Foods which are designed to help give
athletes an extra energy boost.
The European Commission has established new rules governing the
labelling of caffeine and quinine in drinks and food in a bid to
protect consumers who might be prone to adverse reactions.
People who drink coffee on a regular basis may benefit from the
caffeine kick in the first cup of the day but do not experience the
extended stimulation of occasional drinkers, according to new
research from Canada.
BotanicLab, already facing censure over its PC-SPES supplements,
sees seven more herbal products withdrawn from sale in Canada for
containing undeclared drugs.
The Indian army has turned to traditional herbal remedies to help
combat the harsh conditions on the Siachen glacier, the world's
highest and coldest battlefield.
From bottled herb drinks to brews to spice up your sex life, Asian
traditional medicine companies are telling visitors to a Singapore
food expo they have just the tonic.
A supplement made from the herb black cohosh has been found to be
an effective alternative treatment to oestrogen for women suffering
from the menopause.
Caffeine negates the effects of the controversial sports
supplement, creatine, according to research carried out by
scientists from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, in Belgium.
Teenagers who use herbal products are more likely to move on to
more harmful drugs such as cigarettes, alcohol and narcotics,
according to a paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society
for Adolescent Medicine in the US.
A study to investigate the effect of a chinese herb formula on
liver cancer is to be carried out at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center, in New York.The Japanese compund, called
Sho-Saiko-to, is made up of seven Chinese herbs...
Researchers at the University of Miami are to carry out a trial
testing the safety and effectiveness of a herbal pill designed to
treat the symptoms of menopause
Medical officials in Thailand have found dangerous levels of
arsenic in popular herbal remedies used to treat nausea and
fainting symptoms, The Nation newspaper in Bangkok reported.
American Herbal Products Association and the National Nutritional
Foods Association have heavily criticised the findings of a new
study that links colchicine to natural ginkgo.
