Richters HerbLetter


Date: 2001/04/30
Contents
1. Ottawa to Legalize Marijuana for Severe Arthritis
2. Herbal Trade Association Faults St. John’s Wort Study
3. Eating Garlic May Help You Live Longer
4. Biotech Company Looks for Cures in Herbs and Spices
5. Herbal Drink Niagara Proving Popular with Lovers
6. Alternative Medicine for Pets Catching On
7. Smell of Success for London Tube, Who Nose?
8. What Do Consumers Want in the Pharmacy of the Future?
9. St. John’s Wort Ineffective for Major Depression: Study
10. Questions Raised About Latest St. John’s Wort Study
11. Third of St. John’s Wort Supplements Fail Tests
12. Getting the Goods on Ginkgo and Alzheimer’s Disease
13. Chinese Herb Drug Hits Back at Malaria
14. World Health Organization Develops New Malaria Drug
15. Support Use of Local Nigerian Herbs in Malaria Control
16. Herbs and Surgery: A Risky Mix
17. Salmonella Scare Prompts Dietary Supplement Recall
18. Lack of Industry Oversight May Endanger Consumers, Government Report Charges
19. Tough New Rules Needed for Dietary Supplements
20. Poisonous Herb Plant Prompts FDA Warning
21. Attention Pot Growers: Sign Here for Legal Buyers
22. Echinacea Farmer, Neighbour to Clash in Court over Destroyed Crop
23. Native American Elders to Address Medicinal Plant Conservation
24. New Natural Health Products Group Aims to Build Industry
25. Herbs and Spice Sector Taking Root in Canada
26. Tobacco Growers Experimenting with Herb Crops
27. Model Organic Farmers Struggle To Stay Afloat
28. Spicy Reputation as Cure-All and Mind-Altering Drug
29. Nutmeg’s Intoxicating Pungency Captivates Cooks, Treasure Hunters
30. There’s History and Adventure Lurking in Your Spice Rack
31. Passing Muster: Testing the Mustards of Dijon
32. The One-Bowl Comfort of Asian Noodles
33. Tips to Keep Your Herbs and Flavors At Their Spiciest
34. Add Fragrant Plants to Your Garden
35. Spring’s Siren Call: Early Season Bounty Rewards Gardeners, Cooks
36. New England Herbal Expert to Write National Column
37. Richard E. Schultes, 86, Authority on Hallucinogenic Plants, Dies
38. Herb Business News

1. Ottawa to Legalize Marijuana for Severe Arthritis
By Brian Laghi

OTTAWA, April 6, Globe and Mail -- Sufferers of severe forms of arthritis will be given the right to possess and smoke marijuana legally if they can prove they can’t be treated with other drugs to alleviate their relentless pain, according to changes to be revealed today by the federal Health Department.

Ottawa’s long-awaited regulations on medicinal marijuana will also allow terminal patients, and people with AIDS, multiple sclerosis, spinal-cord injuries, epilepsy and other serious conditions to use the drug if it eases their symptoms.

"Canada is acting compassionately by allowing people who are suffering from grave and debilitating illnesses to have access to marijuana for medical purposes," Health Minister Allan Rock said in a release obtained by The Globe and Mail.

The measures will also allow the government to license third parties to grow marijuana for individual sufferers who can’t grow it for themselves, says the release.

The new rules create three categories of people who can possess the drug: those with terminal illnesses with a prognosis of death within one year, those with symptoms associated with serious medical conditions, and those suffering from symptoms with other medical conditions.

Severe arthritis is classed as a Category-2 condition, along with cancer, AIDS, HIV infection, MS and several other ailments. The drug would be used to alleviate persistent muscle spasms, seizures, severe pain, nausea, weight loss and anorexia, among other symptoms. The proposed regulations will be officially tabled tomorrow, after which Canadians will have 30 days to comment before they become law, became necessary after an Ontario Court of Appeal decision last summer that found the country’s marijuana-possession laws unconstitutional. The decision stems from the case of Terrance Parker, a 44-year-old with epilepsy, who won a 23-year court battle for the right to smoke and grow marijuana to control his seizures. Ottawa will put the new regulations into effect July 15.

In the case of a terminal patient, the drug will be supplied only if the government can determine that all conventional treatments for the symptoms have been tried or considered and that marijuana would mitigate symptoms. Other approvals would be more difficult to obtain. For example, in cases of less-serious conditions, sufferers will have to provide statements of need signed by two medical professionals, one of which must be a specialist.

Sufferers in Category 2 can only get the drug if they can prove other treatments were ineffective, if the patient experienced allergic reactions to other treatments, or if the treatment prescribed causes undesirable reactions when used with another medication.

Arthritis affects one in seven Canadians and is characterized by pain, swelling and stiffness of the joints.

Arthritis is not a single disorder, but the name for joint disease from a number of causes.

In its most serious form, arthritis can be extremely painful, making any movement excruciating and difficult.

The most common form is known as osteoarthritis. It results from wear and tear on the joints, often developing in middle age and most commonly affecting people who are 60 years or older.

The new rules being announced today also allow for an annual renewal of the right to use the drug.

For those who will be allowed to produce the drug, the rules will set maximums for the number of indoor and outdoor plants to be grown, authorize a grower to receive and possess seeds and allow for site inspections and criminal-record checks of designated growers.


2. Herbal Trade Association Faults St. John’s Wort Study
WASHINGTON, April 18, PRNewswire -- A new study published in the April 18th edition of Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and underwritten in part by the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc., purports to prove that the popular herb St. John’s wort is ineffective for major depression. Critics of the study, which was conducted on 200 patients diagnosed having major depression, say that the study has little to do with either the traditional use of St. John’s wort or the recent modern clinical trials that have demonstrated conclusively that St. John’s wort is effective in the treatment of mild to moderate depression.

"In spite of the authors’ dismissal of virtually all previous research, this report does not invalidate the many recent clinical studies that have demonstrated that St. John’s wort is effective for mild to moderate depression," said Joseph Betz, Ph.D., Vice President of Scientific and Technical Affairs for the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA). Betz added, "This study evaluates St. John’s wort for the treatment of a condition (major depression) for which it is not used. It’s ironic that the study’s authors cited three recent published St. John’s wort clinical trials which demonstrate conclusively that St. John’s wort is superior to placebo, and equivalent to existing anti-depressants for treatment of mild to moderate depression but dismissed these studies merely because they were designed to determine the effects on mild to moderate depression."

The study was designed and funded by Pfizer Inc., which makes sertraline (Zoloft)(R), a leading antidepressant medication. Observers have criticized JAMA for printing an incomplete financial disclosure statement for Pfizer Inc., since JAMA states that the company is a St. John’s wort manufacturer, when in fact, Pfizer did not manufacture St. John’s wort when it designed and conducted the study. Pfizer recently acquired Warner-Lambert, which had a St. John’s wort product line, but discontinued the line shortly after the acquisition was made.

Dr. Richard C. Shelton of Vanderbilt University led the research team. Shelton criticized all previous St. John’s wort studies as poorly designed, yet experts have observed that Shelton’s study suffers from some critical design flaws of its own. "The study’s lack of an active treatment group is a potential problem since it is fundamental in clinical trials for which effective treatment exists," said Michael McGuffin, AHPA President. McGuffin added, "It is ethically questionable that the study treated patients with major depression, a potentially life threatening disease, for eight weeks with a placebo and with a treatment that is not noted for its activity in major depression."

The traditional and approved use for St. John’s wort in Europe is for mild and moderate depression and is sold in the United States as a gentle mood enhancer.

The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) is the leading trade association for manufacturers of herbal products. AHPA serves its members by promoting the responsible commerce of products that contain herbs.


3. Eating Garlic May Help You Live Longer
JINAN, April 26, Xinhuanet -- Eating garlic may make human beings living longer, if a finding by health experts in east China’s Shandong Province is revealing.

In the garlic-producing Jinshan county of the province, there now live 35 centenarians (people over 100 years old). Almost all of them share a love for garlic, and most of them are living in the countryside.

Health experts said the ratio of centenarians in the population of the county is more than seven times higher than that in other Chinese regions.

In Huangzhuang village of the Mamiaozhen town, there now live four centenarians.

The eldest of them, madam Zhao, is 108 years-old. But she still enjoys sound eyesight and hearing. She speaks loudly and clearly, and uses no walking sticks.

Family members said most the centenarians like eating garlic, especially eggs mixed with mashed garlic.

According to villagers, once a centenarian named Li was served food by his children, his eyes moved among the food but wouldn’t eat. The children were wondering if he did not like the food, when he asked "Where is the garlic?"

Wang Xu, an academician from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said garlic has rich contents of vitamins, amino acid, proteins and garlicin.

Ancient Chinese medical books say garlic can drive off chilliness, disperse swells, kill malignant gas and beef up the functions of the spleen and stomach.

Modern medicine has proved that garlic can kill more than 100 harmful bacteria and prevent flu, enteritis and other diseases.

Experts said this proves an important reason for the longevity of residents in garlic-growing areas.


4. Biotech Company Looks for Cures in Herbs and Spices
By Janet McBride

LONDON, April 30, Reuters -- A Vietnamese herb and an Indian plant are among the potential cures for life-threatening diseases that British biotech firm Phytopharm wants to bring to clinical trial, its chief executive said on Monday.

The company, whose treatments for bowel cancer and obesity are based on everyday substances like curry spice turmeric and cactus, also said it hoped to break even before the launch of its first billion dollar prescription drugs in 2004-5.

There was money to be made in the meantime by selling safe, food-based medicines in the so-called "nutraceutical" market of over-the-counter and healthstore medicines, Chief Executive Richard Dixey told Reuters.

The veterinary market -- Phytopharm is developing its P7 product from three Chinese plants to treat eczema in dogs -- was another source of potential revenue, he said.

"We’re keen not to be a loss-making company. We want to make enough to break even while we’re waiting for the big drugs to hit the market," Dixey said in an interview.

Phytopharm’s shares were up 2.3 percent at 5567-1/2 pence in early afternoon trade.

Thirty Products in "Waiting Room"

The Vietnamese herb under investigation is a promising treatment for chronic ideopathic purpura, a life-threatening immune system disease where white blood cells destroy the platelets which are instrumental in blood clotting, Dixey said.

People suffering from the disease find slight injuries cause prolonged bleeding and purple blotches on the skin.

Dixey said tests on 12 patients who had not responded to other treatments showed a rapid improvement in their blood count and he hoped clinical trials would begin shortly.

Anecdotal data suggested that an Indian plant targeted by Phytopharm was a possible treatment for hepatitis C, a potentially fatal liver disease. A study was planned in Glasgow, Scotland, Dixey said.

"These are just two of the 30 products I have in the waiting room and would like to bring to trial."

Dixey said Phytopharm was in talks with three parties about licensing agreements similar to its deal with U.S. giant Pfizer to develop the obesity drug P57, derived from a cactus used in the initiation rights of an extinct African tribe.

P57 is among the blockbuster drugs that Phytopharm hopes to bring to the pharmaceuticals market in 2004-2005.

Other medicines include P58, a potential treatment for the degenerative diseases Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, that is derived from an Asian plant, and P54, an anti-inflammatory and possible bowel cancer treatment made from turmeric.

P7, for treating eczema, is also under development, first for the veterinary market and later for human use.

"These are products where we have patented the use of plants, patented the mode of action of plants and patented molecules that have come from those plants," Dixey said.

He said the obesity market, target of its P57 treatment, was worth $2-4 billion a year, with about 140 million obese people in northern Europe and America. The associated market for diabetes treatment was worth nearly $5 billion, Dixey said.

"So the total market could be as much as $9 billion. This is the plague of the West," Dixey said.

Reporting its interim earnings, Phytopharm said sales in the six months to February 2001 dropped by 57 percent to 682,000 pounds ($979,100) against the same period the previous year.

It pointed out, however, that the previous year’s figure was bloated by a milestone payment by Pfizer. Against the previous half-year, turnover rose by 37 percent.

The group’s pre-tax loss widened to 1.37 million pounds from 1.33 million the in previous six months and 852,000 in the year-earlier period. The failure in trials of Phytopharm’s male baldness cure P45 cost 170,000 pounds.

Dixey said Phytopharm’s monthly asset burn meant it had five years’ cash in the bank.


5. Herbal Drink Niagara Proving Popular with Lovers
By Aline McKenzie

DALLAS, April 9, Dallas Morning News -- Women are lusting after an elusive Swedish sex star.

But it’s not any Thom, Dirk or Harvald -- it’s an herbal drink called Niagara, being billed as a sexual stimulant.

Niagara -- Viagra. Get it?

"We’re trying to get our hands on it, because (women) are calling like crazy," says Diana Perez, manager of Condoms To Go on Greenville Avenue in Dallas. "But we haven’t been able to carry it because we can’t find a distributor I’ve had customers say `I’ll go and get all the information for you.’"

Yet there’s an air of mystery, too. The drink is almost impossible to find. Wycoff Coffee House in Little Rock, Ark., is one of the few American distributors.

Herbal sexual stimulants have been easily available for years. Scientific evidence supporting their efficacy has been harder to find. So why has Niagara become so hot? Perhaps because a fruit-flavored, fizzy drink -- bottled to resemble wine or fru-fru water -- is more romantic than an envelope of pills labeled "Great Sex," available at fine gas stations near you.

"It’s just a drink," Perez says.

Herbal sexual stimulants tend to come in three types of packaging. Some brands feature nearly nude women, with wink-wink-nudge-nudge promises of great lovemaking and "performance." Others are more romantically packed, with pink wrappers and valentine hearts.

Pills sold under the label "Great Sex" contain herbs such as kava-kava root powder and yohimbe extract. Another product, called "Dr. Lovett’s Herbal Vigarra," contains bee pollen and ginger root.

But Niagara’s low-key, fizzy blueness is stealing the show.

Like any hot new star, the drink, normally priced at $4.50 for a 6.6-ounce bottle, is getting plenty of exposure.

It’s been making the rounds of the morning talk shows for a few weeks. "On The View," for instance, a table of women sipped the drink and began giggling about how excited they felt.

The publicity has created a frenzy in Little Rock. At the Wycoff Coffee House, customers are walking out loaded up.

"I’ve seen people carrying out two boxes at a time," says Cyndi Hulvey, a software instructor at a Staffmark Technology Training Center next door to the coffeehouse. "It’s crazy. I’ve never seen anything like it."

According to the Swedish maker, Magic House, the drink is fruit-flavored, caffeinated and contains the herbs damiana, schisandra, mate, guarana and ginseng. These herbs, plus others such as horny goat weed, ginger and gingko, are common in herbal stimulants.

Unfortunately, they probably don’t work, say some advocates of herbal therapy.

"There are no isolated herbal aphrodisiacs," says Mindy Green, director of education for the Herb Research Foundation in Boulder, Colo.

There’s also a Catch-22: Either these products don’t work, and consumers are wasting their money, or they do work, and consumers should check with their doctors before taking anything that might interfere with the body’s functioning.

"Herbs are medicinal -- they’re not a bag of Fritos," says Tanja Kunz, education assistant for the American Botanical Council in Austin, Texas. "You have to be careful about how much you take, whether the herbs will interact with any medicine you’re taking, and so on."

None of the herbs above are recognized as sexual stimulants by the federal Food and Drug Administration or the National Institutes of Health.

In contrast, yohimbine, a chemical that comes from the herb yohimbe, is recognized as a drug and available by prescription, Green says. But it’s dangerous for people with high blood pressure, and over-the-counter yohimbe may not contain enough yohimbine to have any effect, she says.

Makers of herbal supplements must walk a fine line, says David Schardt, an expert on the topic from the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Under federal rules, manufacturers can’t make claims about curing any disease. And since impotence is a disease, any stronger claim than "enhancing the sexual experience" would bring the FDA down on them, he says.

There are few scientifically controlled studies on whether herbs such as damiana really do increase sexual function, he says.

In Arkansas, most of the evidence of Niagara’s efficacy is anecdotal.

"It’s affecting people differently," says Trina Brickey, manager of Barbara Graves Intimate Fashions, a Little Rock boutique that’s also selling the drink. "Some people have a great experience, some don’t have that great an experience."

The boutique began stocking the drink last Valentine’s Day. "People are giving it as gifts, like a novelty item," Graves says. "Men are buying it, women, everyone is buying it.

"If it doesn’t work," Graves adds, "it’s not a total loss. It tastes good."

Hmm so you’ve tried it?

"Yes, but I’m a big caffeine person, so I’m not the best person to try it out on. I drink Cokes and coffee all day long, so it does not affect me like most people. It was like drinking three straight Coca-Colas."

Good enough to change her idea of a romantic evening?

Not quite.

"I’m sticking to wine," she says. "That’s still my favorite."

[Staff writer Hector Cantu contributed to this report.]


6. Alternative Medicine for Pets Catching On
By Dru Wilson

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., April 6, The Gazette -- Like many elderly patients, Georgia is plagued by arthritis. Her joints ache, she limps when it’s cold outside and she has a hard time climbing stairs.

So she goes to massage therapist Reba Cullers for treatment. Under Cullers’ ministering hands, Georgia dozes as her stiff muscles and joints begin to relax. Afterwards, she bounces up, eager for a walk.

Or, perhaps, to fetch tennis balls.

Georgia is a golden retriever and Cullers a trained canine-massage therapist, one of a handful of local practitioners who offer a variety of alternative treatments, from massage and magnet therapy to herbs, acupuncture and chiropractic for ailing pets.

Just as more people are getting alternative treatments for themselves, more are doing the same for pets. Their goal is to find treatments less invasive and costly than surgery or strong medications.

The Lakewood, Colo.-based American Animal Hospital Association surveyed pet owners in the United States and Canada in 1998 and again in 1999. The group found that 11 percent of pet owners used massage in 1998; in 1999, that rose to 19 percent. The use of herbal remedies went from 8 percent in 1998 to 10 percent in 1999. Chiropractic, acupuncture and acupressure use remained the same, with 2 percent to 3 percent of pet owners using those treatments.

"Today I can call myself an `integrative holistic veterinarian’ without being considered a charlatan, which might not have been the case two decades ago," says Dr. Allen Schoen, an affiliate faculty member at Colorado State University.

His book "Kindred Spirits," on the human/animal bond, includes a chapter on how he decided to incorporate alternative treatments along with traditional veterinary medicine in his own practice. He also teaches and lectures on the subject nationwide.

Other signs point to a growing acceptance of alternative veterinary medicine, he says. CSU now offers courses on acupuncture and animal-massage therapy through its veterinary science department. A comparison between the veterinarian listings in the local phone book this year with listings a decade ago or even five years ago shows clinics offering a holistic approach to treatment rose from none to at least six.

Hilary Wood, director of Front Range Equine Rescue, has used several treatments -- massage, acupuncture, magnets, herbs and infrared light therapy -- to care for abused and neglected horses.

"If it works on people, why not animals?" says Wood.

Success with animals is easy to verify, she says. "Animals don’t lie. There is no placebo effect."

If the treatment works, the animal shows improvement. If it doesn’t, it continues to exhibit symptoms.

Tigger is one of Wood’s best examples. The sorrel gelding was donated to FRER by his owners after regular veterinary care failed to heal a severely torn tendon in his leg. His injured leg was swollen to twice its size and he couldn’t walk, Wood says.

She used magnets, light therapy and acupuncture on Tigger, and although he will never again chase calves in a roping arena, he is able to move around the pasture and corral, Wood says.

But now Tigger is developing cataracts. Surgery is an option, but costs about $8,000 and involves risk, she says. Instead, Wood decided to use an herbal treatment including Pau D’Arco extract. Although she isn’t sure it will eradicate the cataracts, she notes some improvement.

"His eyes seem brighter" and he’s less apt to spook at things around him, she says.

Dr. D. Stanton Brase of the Rockrimmon Animal Clinic recently added acupuncture to his roster of traditional veterinary treatments and has used it to treat dogs and cats with arthritis, slipped discs, hip dysplasia, vomiting, dry eyes, and injuries from encounters with cars.

"I wanted to diversify," he says. "There are some cases where there is nothing more that (traditional) medicine can do. We come to a point where we are up against a wall."

Not all his clients are ready to embrace alternatives for their pets, Brase says. "It’s like voodoo medicine to them."

But some, like Kelly Anderson, are willing to use whatever will relieve their pet’s discomfort. Iceman, Anderson’s 13-year-old Doberman pinscher, gets acupuncture to treat his arthritis, incontinence, lethargy and aging digestive system. Iceman’s ailments could be treated with medicines, but the substances and can cause liver and kidney damage, she says.

"I want to stay holistic as long as possible," Anderson says. "As long as this is helping him to run around like he likes, we will use it."

Acupuncture won’t return him to puppy-like energy and movement, but it does make it easier for him to climb stairs and get around, she says.

"There is a noticeable difference afterwards,and I can tell when it’s time for another treatment," she says.

Iceman visits Brase about every four weeks and doesn’t seem to mind being poked with needles. He stands stoically as each needle is inserted with a tap of the doctor’s finger. Half an hour later, when the needles are removed, Iceman gives a shake, wags his stub of a tail and turns to Brase eager for the treat he gets for cooperating.

"He loves it," Anderson says. "This is the only vet we have ever had that he enjoys being here."

Whether herbs, massage or acupuncture, the premise of treatment is to restore a natural balance to the body’s internal system to promote healing, practitioners say.

"I firmly believe that no one treatment approach has all the answers," says Schoen of CSU.

"Why should we limit ourselves to one kind of medicine when there are so many good ones to pick from? Why not do everything we can to help our companions, regardless of which school of thought our treatment comes from, or which continent, or whether it is ancient or modern?"


7. Smell of Success for London Tube, Who Nose?
By Lara Smith

LONDON, April 23, Reuters -- London may have sniffed out a good idea from across the Channel but commuters seemed indifferent to the French-inspired air freshener wafting through some of the British capital’s underground stations on Monday.

Named Madeleine, after a Paris Metro station, the slightly spicy smelling air freshener went on trial at three underground stations in central London -- Piccadilly Circus, Euston and St James’s Park.

With three million people a day using the Tube the atmosphere can be rank at times, particularly in hot weather.

But passengers who spoke at Picaddilly Circus on Monday did not seem to have sniffed a whiff of difference.

"I didn’t even notice," said Dave, an American tourist from Oregon.

"We didn’t smell anything," said Danish visitor Helle as she emerged from the station in the tourist heart of London.

Neither did Londoner Josie, although she added: "I wasn’t really paying attention."

To someone who uses Picaddilly regularly, though, the smell is immediately obvious.

It is not unpleasant but not remarkable either. Rather like a cheap, spicy cologne, or a just-cleaned bathroom.

There was little sign of the "fresh, watery floral bouquet of rose, jasmine and citrus top notes with a touch of fruit and herbs giving way to strong woody accents and a hint of sweetness in the base," as London Underground described it.

"Initially it was overwhelming, but it has faded into a background smell," said one London Underground worker who did not want to be named.

Another Underground worker said three complaints had been received so far. One related to a passenger’s allergies -- although London Underground said the scent was hypoallergenic -- while the others just didn’t like it.

The perfume is a variation of an air freshener used on the Paris Metro since 1998, a spokeswoman for London Underground said.

"It may be too soon to say whether our passengers like it, but we believe passengers on the Paris Metro found it generally favourable," she said.

It is applied to the floors overnight and the scent is released when walked on, the spokeswoman explained.

Perfume for the one-month trial was being supplied free, she added.


8. What Do Consumers Want in the Pharmacy of the Future?
VALLEY FORGE, Pa., April 30, PRNewswire -- What should the drug store of the future offer its customers?

On-site nurse practitioners were the top choice, according to the AmeriSource Index, a new nationwide quarterly survey released today by AmeriSource Health Corporation (NYSE: AAS). The survey covered a range of topics including purchasing medications over the Internet, the use of herbal medicines, why people use a particular pharmacy and whom people go to for advice on medications.

When presented with a list of products and services that they would most like to find in the pharmacy of the future, 30 percent of respondents chose an on-site nurse practitioner. When asked what their second top choice was, nutrition counseling and a nurse practitioner tied at 15 percent. A specialist on different diseases came in next, at 14 percent. Other top contenders for second place were kiosks with medical or diagnostic information, at 12 percent, and weight loss counseling, at 8 percent. Chiropractors and masseuses followed, with 7 percent and 5 percent respectively.

What About the Internet?

While Internet purchases have increased in recent years, the vast majority of survey respondents -- 64 percent -- said they had not purchased medications over the Internet and did not intend to do so in the future. However, when asked what might encourage them to do so, the ability to order from a local pharmacy on-line drew the largest number of responses -- 21 percent. Next were lower prices (20 percent), convenience and improved security (12 percent), at-home delivery of orders (10 percent) and obtaining Internet access (3 percent).

Waiting to have a prescription filled was an experience just about all respondents shared. Twenty-nine percent of those surveyed reported an average wait of more than 20 minutes. Eighteen percent said they usually waited 11-15 minutes, while 19 percent said they waited 6-10 minutes. Only 13 percent of respondents reported waiting five minutes or less.

The AmeriSource Index polled 1,034 consumers nationwide about their medication-purchasing habits and preferences. It was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation International on behalf of AmeriSource Health Corporation, a leading distributor of pharmaceutical and related healthcare products and services.

Choosing a Pharmacy

What is the most important factor in selecting a pharmacy? A convenient location, according to 26 percent of the survey respondents. Low prices came in next, at 20 percent, followed by "trust" and "personalized attention and service" at 15 percent.

Among respondents 55 and over, who purchase more medications than any other group, the results were different. Trust ranked even higher among respondents 55-64. In fact, 23 percent said this was their top criterion. Among senior citizens (64+), personal attention also ranked high, with 20 percent of seniors selecting this as the key reason to choose a pharmacy.

Pharmacists also ranked second only to physicians when people seek advice about medications or medication interactions, according to the survey. When asked whom they were most likely to consult about these issues, 48 percent of respondents chose physicians, while 37 percent chose pharmacists. Among adults 35 to 64 years of age, pharmacists were the top choice, while women were almost evenly split, with 45 percent choosing physicians and 44 percent selecting pharmacists.

Lastly, the survey questioned people about their use of herbal and homeopathic medicines. While 27 percent of respondents said they did take these products, nearly two thirds of those who reported using herbal or homeopathic products said they did not inform their pharmacists about it. Herbal and homeopathic products were used most by adults ages 35-54. This group was also the least likely to inform pharmacists about the use of these products.

The AmeriSource Index

The first AmeriSource Index, released today, is a quarterly survey of trends, purchasing behaviors and opinions about pharmacists and their customers. Future surveys will be released on a quarterly basis.

AmeriSource Health Corporation, with approximately $14 billion in annualized operating revenue, is a leading distributor of pharmaceutical and related healthcare products and services, and the industry’s largest provider of pharmaceuticals to the acute care/health systems market. Headquartered in Valley Forge, PA, the Company serves its base of about 15,000 customers accounts through a national network of more than 20 strategically located distribution facilities. For news and additional information about the company, visit its web site at www.amerisource.com.


9. St. John’s Wort Ineffective for Major Depression: Study
By Tammy Webber

CHICAGO, April 18, AP -- St. John’s wort, the popular herbal remedy touted as a natural alternative to prescription antidepressants, is ineffective in treating major depression, according to a new study.

Dozens of previous studies, most conducted in Europe, have found some benefit from the herb, which has been used for thousands of years.

But authors of the new report say St. John’s wort shouldn’t even be recommended for those with mild depression without more research.

"We can say with confidence that it calls into serious question the effectiveness in moderate to major depression," said Dr. Richard Shelton, a psychiatry professor at Vanderbilt University and the lead author of the study in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association.

"It means we know nothing now about St. John’s wort," he said. "It puts into question everything that came before."

The study was funded by Pfizer Inc., which makes antidepressants and St. John’s wort extract. It did not weigh the herbal supplement’s effect on mild depression.

A spokesman for a trade group for nutritional supplements says the conclusions of Shelton’s study are overstated.

"Nobody ever said St. John’s wort was effective for major depression," said John Cardellina, vice president for botanical science for the Council for Responsible Nutrition. "Now these guys run one trial of major depression and say it should outweigh all other trials."

The researchers studied 200 adult outpatients diagnosed with major depression at 11 academic medical centers in the United States.

Each patient was evaluated for depression and randomly assigned to receive St. John’s wort extract or a placebo for eight weeks. Patients were not permitted to use any anti-depressant drugs during the trial; some patients were in psychotherapy.

Researchers concluded that St. John’s wort "failed to produce significant differences vs. placebo" based on previously established rating scales designed to evaluate depressed patients.

Shelton said his study was limited because it did not compare the use of St. John’s wort to an anti-depressant drug. Such a study is now being conducted by the National Institutes of Health.

Shelton criticized previous studies as poorly designed, having too few participants or using inadequate doses of anti-depressant medicines to which St. John’s wort was compared. He said it was inconceivable that so many trials -- there have been at least 31 -- all were positive.

Dr. Darrel Regier, director of the American Psychiatric Association’s research division, said previous reports of St. John’s wort’s effectiveness might be attributed to a placebo effect -- some people will get better simply by believing it works.

Shelton’s study shows that St. John’s wort should not be recommended for anyone who is depressed, said Regier, who praised its "state-of-the-art methodology."

He also said many St. John’s wort users do not seek medical advice and are unaware of many of the herb’s risks. Some studies have shown, for example, that St. John’s wort can interfere with drugs used to treat HIV-infection and heart transplant patients.


10. Questions Raised About Latest St. John’s Wort Study
AUSTIN, Texas, April 16, PRNewswire -- A new clinical study on the popular herb St. John’s wort is being published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, according to a press release from JAMA (embargoed for Tuesday, April 17). The study reportedly shows that St. John’s Wort (SJW) is not effective in treating severe cases of depression.

According to Jerry Cott, Ph.D., former Chief of the Psychopharmacology Research Program, at the National Institute of Mental Health, this study does not invalidate the use of SJW in clinical depression. In Dr. Cott’s estimation, this study could be considered "neutral," one that simply fails to show effectiveness rather than proving the test drug doesn’t work. "This result is very common in pharmaceutical industry-sponsored studies, though normally they are not published. Since no active treatment group, i.e., no active pharmaceutical drug, was used in the design of the study to compare the SJW and the placebo (sugar pill), the study may simply have lacked the sensitivity to detect a difference." Dr. Cott is an expert on the effects of herbs and conventional drugs on mental disorders, including depression. Dr. Cott also formerly worked at the Food and Drug Administration where he evaluated clinical studies on new antidepressant drugs.

"What strikes me initially is the very low placebo response rate in this study. In my 25 years of psychopharmacology research, I have never seen a depression study with such a low placebo response," he noted. "One possible interpretation is that the extremely low placebo response rate could invalidate the study. Others might say the low response rate is due to the high quality of the investigators. And this is certainly true. They are all fine and experienced investigators," he added.

"However, these are the same investigators that routinely see placebo response rates of 30 to 50 % in their other drug company studies. So, why the difference now?" he asks.

Dr. Cott suggested the following explanation: "I would venture to guess that the rate was low because of the possibly subconscious expectations of the investigators and the patients. Their expectations may have been low because there is no known ‘active’ drug in this study. That is, in the minds of some, this was a clinical trial comparing two inactive treatments. Therefore, the expectation of all concerned is that no one would get better. And this was nearly the case, though one has to read very carefully to see that St. John’s wort did, in fact, perform better than placebo. A significantly greater percentage of patients receiving SJW recovered from their depression compared with those receiving the placebo"

He added, " A better-designed study would have incorporated an ‘active’ comparison, to raise the possibility in the minds of the researchers that a particular patient may be among the 30% on the ‘active’ medication. This design would show if the study had sensitivity depending on whether or not the ‘known’ antidepressant worked."

According to Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of the nonprofit American Botanical Council, most of the previous clinical studies conducted in Europe on SJW targeted only mild to moderate cases of depression, not major or severe depression. "There is a significant body of research and clinical experience that documents the safety and efficacy of St. John’s wort to treat mild to moderate cases of depression," he noted.

He added, "Although federal law does not allow marketers of St. John’s wort to make claims for treating depression or anxiety disorders, most of the products I have seen in the United States appear to be targeting consumers who want to gently elevate their moods, not treat a severe case of depression."

According to Hannah Bradford, M.Ac. of George Washington University Center for Integrative Medicine, "The real benefits of St. John’s wort are seen in the early stages of depression, where it can help avert the need for more powerful synthetic medications with their greater side effects."

The study was conducted by Dr. Richard C. Shelton of Vanderbilt University and will appear in this week’s issue of JAMA. The study was designed and funded by Pfizer, the pharmaceutical manufacturer of sertraline (Zoloft(R)), a leading antidepressant medication that was used as a comparison drug for a large, three-year NIH-funded study of SJW in major depression -- the results of which are soon to be released..

Founded in 1988 in Austin, Texas, the American Botanical Council is the leading independent non-profit research and education organization that educates the public on the responsible and scientific use of medicinal plants. Its highly acclaimed quarterly peer reviewed journal HerbalGram has been published since 1983 as a reliable and authoritative source of herb and medicinal plant research, regulatory and market issues, native plant conservation and other general interest aspects of herb use.

[Study references: (Shelton et al. JAMA 2001; 1978-1986)]


11. Third of St. John’s Wort Supplements Fail Tests
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., April 11, PRNewswire -- ConsumerLab.com, an independent evaluator of dietary supplements and nutrition products, today released results of its Product Review of St. John’s wort supplements. These supplements are popularly used to treat mild to moderate depression and to relieve depression-related anxiety.

Twenty-one St. John’s wort products were purchased and tested for levels of specific plant compounds speculated to be responsible for the herb’s therapeutic effects, and cadmium, a known carcinogen and potential toxin that the St. John’s wort plant selectively accumulates while growing. Neither the FDA nor any other federal or state agency routinely tests St. John’s wort products, or other supplements, for quality prior to sale.

One-third of the 21 brands of St. John’s wort did not pass testing for the following reasons (with several of the products failing for more than one reason): Four products had insufficient levels of the compound hypericin (ranging from 77% to 85% of the amount expected); one product had only 21.7% of the claimed amount of the compound hyperforin; and five products exceeded the review’s limit for cadmium. Although the cadmium levels in these products alone would not pose a serious health risk, they represent avoidable sources of cadmium. There is a relatively small safety margin between normal exposure to cadmium and exposure that can cause harm.

Consumers have been advised to look for St. John’s wort products that explicitly list hypericin or hyperforin content on their labels. While these are important chemical markers to look for in products, ConsumerLab.com did not find such claims to guarantee that products would meet their claims or pass testing. ConsumerLab.com found, however, that products most likely to pass claimed to be made from St. John’s wort "flower" or "flower and leaves." Products less likely to have passed were labeled to contain "aerial" portions of St. John’s wort (a more general term that includes all above-ground parts, including stems) and were more likely to contain raw herb as an ingredient, as opposed to extract-only products.

Tod Cooperman, M.D., ConsumerLab.com’s President, commented, "Because the St. John’s wort user is typically battling depression, it is particularly important that these products deliver what they claim. A switch to a lower quality product could result in lower efficacy, although the user might not suspect the product as the cause."

The general findings are available at http://www.consumerlab.com. ConsumerLab.com’s online subscribers can also access the complete list of CL Approved Quality Products and CL’s ConsumerTips(TM) on buying and using St. John’s wort. Similar information from ConsumerLab.com’s recent Product Reviews of Asian and American ginseng, calcium, chondroitin, CoQ10, creatine, ginkgo biloba, glucosamine, multivitamins/multiminerals, SAM-e, saw palmetto, and vitamins C and E are also available. Other Product Reviews scheduled for release this year include Echinacea, soy isoflavones, valerian, MSM, and protein/energy bars. ConsumerLab.com’s Buyer’s Guide to Supplements is to be published in print later this year. To further assist consumers, ConsumerLab.com licenses its flask-shaped CL Seal of Approved Quality (see The CL Seal) to manufacturers for use on products that have passed its evaluations.

ConsumerLab.com is a leading provider of consumer information and independent evaluations of products that affect health and nutrition. The company is privately held and headquartered in White Plains, New York. It has no ownership from or interest in companies that manufacture, distribute, or sell consumer products.


12. Getting the Goods on Ginkgo and Alzheimer’s Disease
WESTPORT, Conn., April 19, Healthscout -- New study will look at whether herb can delay, prevent Alzheimer’s disease

A four-year study to determine whether ginkgo biloba delays or prevents Alzheimer’s disease is under way at Oregon Health Sciences University.

"This is the first study we know of that’s looking at ginkgo’s ability to help prevent or delay the onset of dementia symptoms," says Tracy Zitzelberger, research assistant, Dementia Prevention Study, neurology department, at the university.

Ginkgo biloba is used around the world by alternative and complementary health providers, who believe it improves a person’s memory. It’s a huge market: Americans spent $240 million on ginkgo biloba in 1997 alone.

But there isn’t much scientific evidence to confirm the benefits of this plant extract. Most of the studies on it have been done without rigorous scientific standards

The Oregon study, which started last August, will focus on people 85 and older who currently have no symptoms of dementia.

"Because they are at the highest risk to experience dementia, it does make them the ideal population to do this kind of research with," says Zitzelberger, who notes that half the population of people over 85 have some form of dementia.

There are 51 people enrolled in the study, but researchers would like to recruit 200 people.

Half of the subjects will receive ginkgo biloba while the others receive a placebo. Each volunteer will receive regular checkups. Written and verbal tests will be used to determine if there has been any significant cognitive decline during the span of the study. MRI testing will be used to detect any changes in brain structure.

Zitzelberger says this study is unique in that it’s looking at ginkgo biloba’s ability to delay or prevent dementia symptoms, while other studies have focused on whether it could lessen symptoms in people already experiencing dementia.

While ginkgo biloba has been used for centuries in Eastern cultures, it hasn’t been the focus of much research. One reason for that is because it’s not a pharmaceutical that can be patented, so drug companies have no incentive to investigate it.

This study is funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Zitzelberger says ginkgo does show great promise, and it’s vital to determine just how effective it may be in countering Alzheimer’s, which is devastating to patients and their families.

"It’s becoming an increasing problem. As we’re living longer, we’re seeing more people developing it, and we don’t yet understand fully how it works, how to treat it, or how we might prevent it. It’s a major public health issue," she says.

Approximately 4 million Americans have Alzheimer’s. It affects one in 10 people 65 and older.

There does seem to be some indication that ginkgo is beneficial, says William Thies, vice president of medical and scientific affairs at the Alzheimer’s Association.

"You can criticize the methodology in most of the trials that have been done up until now, but this trial and others will feature rigorous methodology, and are really going to answer these questions," Thies says.

"In an environment where we have a limited number of therapeutic options for Alzheimer’s disease, nothing would please the association more than to be able to say, ‘Hey, here’s another thing that you could do to help you with this terrible problem,’ " Thies says.


13. Chinese Herb Drug Hits Back at Malaria
LONDON, April 25, World Entertainment News Network -- A herb, familiar to the Chinese for 2,000 years but unknown in the west until 20 years ago, could provide an anti-malaria drug.

British researchers are working on a treatment derived from wormwood which they say can cure 98 per cent of cases. And chemists at the Wellcome Trust Bangkok research unit say it cut infection rates among children by 90 per cent. Malaria infects 400 million people each year and kills more than one million. Nine out of ten cases are in Africa.

There is no vaccine for the disease, which is caused by a parasite spread by mosquitoes, but researchers have used the herb Artemisia annua to develop artemisinin.

Professor Nicholas White, director of Wellcome’s south east Asia research unit, says it is quick acting and has no side effects. He adds, "The malarial world was gobsmacked. There was nothing else - they were facing untreatable malaria by the end of the decade."

It has yet to be approved for use in America and Europe.


14. World Health Organization Develops New Malaria Drug
LAGOS, April 25, Xinhua -- A newly developed malaria drug is expected to save at least 100,000 children a year worldwide, a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday in Nigeria’s capital Abuja.

The new drug, named "Artesunate" and derived from a Chinese herb, was developed by the WHO for rectal use, said the report.

The drug, which gets quickly absorbed, halts the course of the disease, enables the patient to regain consciousness and reach a health center for further curative treatment with oral anti-malaria drugs, the WHO said.

It further states that trials of Artesunate suppositories carried out in Malawi, Ghana, South Africa and Thailand have shown patients’ rapid recovery within 24 hours with a single dose.

It is reported that the WHO and other partners are working together to introduce the new drug next year in countries threatened by high malaria infection.

According to the WHO, among the 300 to 500 million malaria patients worldwide, most are children under the age of 5.


15. Support Use of Local Nigerian Herbs in Malaria Control
LAGOS, April 30, This Day -- Convinced by the efficacy of herbal medicine, Imo State government has advocated support for research work on the use of local herbs in malaria control in the country, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The World Health Organisation has already developed a drug for the control of malaria, from a Chinese plant and has announced that it will support other African countries to develop similar drugs from their local herbs, the WHO regional director for Africa, Dr. Ebrahim Samba announced recently.

The permanent secretary in the state Ministry of Health, Mr. G.U Ezeigwe said that a thorough research on the efficacy of local herbs with insecticidal properties in malaria control would enhance attainment of the breakthrough the country needed in malaria eradication.

Ezeigwe made the advocacy during the state celebration of the Africa malaria day in Owerri, just as African leaders commemorated Africa Malaria Day in Abuja recently.

The permanent secretary said that no efforts at malaria control would be effective without a sustained reduction of the mosquito index which, he said, could be tackled if such research work was encouraged.

He stressed the need for routine fumigation of public establishments and drains in major towns, residential and rural areas, pointing out that monthly monitoring of vector index in the state to project the magnitude of the problem was necessary.

Ezeigwe disclosed that the state’s task force on roll-back-malaria had concluded plans to distribute insecticide-treated bednets in all the council areas as part of efforts to eradicate the killer disease.

The state governor, Chief Achike Udenwa, said that the government budgeted n12 million to fight malaria in the state in view of its ravaging effect on the lives of the citizens.

Udenwa appealed to his people to always ensure a clean environment to prevent mosquito breeding, pointing out that eradication of malaria remained a challenge to all.


16. Herbs and Surgery: A Risky Mix
WESTPORT, Conn., April 25, HealthScout -- A variety of herbs, and even some vitamins, can cause serious problems in the operating room, warns a New York plastic surgeon. And these problems seem to be cropping up more and more.

A range of herbal supplements -- from the popular St. John’s wort and ginkgo biloba to garlic, ginger, ginseng and feverfew -- can cause increased bleeding during surgery, contends Dr. Philip Miller, a clinical assistant professor at New York University’s School of Medicine who specializes in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. So, he says, can vitamin E.

That’s not only risky during the actual operation, he says, but can lead to complications later.

"Patients in the operating room are just oozing as if they’re on aspirin," Miller says of a trend he’s noticed in the past six to nine months. Surgeons routinely warn people away from aspirin before an operation, he says, because aspirin tends to keep blood from clotting.

But people are taking herbal supplements unbeknownst to their doctors, Miller says.

"They swear they didn’t take anything, and I trust my patients," he says. But after further checking, he says, "I’ve been able to elicit a history of herbal use that they’ve not disclosed to their physicians."

About 70 percent of people slated for surgery don’t disclose herbal use, says Miller, citing a recent survey. Herbs generally aren’t prescribed by a doctor, and people just don’t consider them a medication, he says.

But herbs and vitamins do affect the inner workings of the body -- and not always in a positive way when it comes to surgery, Miller says.

Ginkgo biloba -- which people take to improve their memory -- "can cause spontaneous bleeding," he says, "and interferes with the process by which the body causes blood clots." It’s also been blamed for post-operative bleeding.

"Underneath the skin, [it] can ooze itself into the tissue, much like mud or water might invade itself into a rug if you have a flood, ultimately causing a diffused discoloration," he says, referring to the black-and-blue of bruising.

Some bruising, he says, is part of the process. "But after having performed enough surgeries, there’s a certain level you expect and anticipate and, beyond that, you go, ‘Hmm, that seems a little strange,’" Miller says.

"I’m the same doctor, doing the same operations, but you guys [the patients] are the difference," he says.

A growing number of people now take herbal supplements of one kind or another. One medical group estimates that Americans will spend about $5 billion this year on herbal products they believe will help them treat depression, raise their energy level, improve their memory or otherwise improve their well-being. A survey last summer showed that nearly a quarter of all Americans regularly take some herbal supplement.

But anyone going in for surgery should stop risky medications -- including herbs -- at least two weeks before their operation, Miller says. Herbal advocates generally agree with that.

"It’s a good idea to stop taking all medication, including herbal supplements, before surgery," says Mindy Green, director of education for the Herb Research Foundation, a nonprofit educational library located in Boulder, Colo.

Even some foods, she says, interact with medications and can affect bleeding.

"But surgeons should know that if they’re doing surgery, they should do some kind of test for bleeding time before the surgery," Green says. "The surgeon is blaming [the problem] on herbs, and the patient is not relaying [important details], either out of ignorance or fear. But surgeons should ask specifically about dietary supplements."

But even when they do, Miller says, sometimes things sneak through.

"Some of these supplements [like ginseng] are finding themselves into iced teas, herbal energy drinks, herbal teas," he says. Because of this, people can be honest with their doctors and say they’re not taking anything, yet still be at risk, Miller says.

And it’s not just people scheduled for surgery who need to worry, he says.

Anyone who’s having nosebleeds might want to check their herb use, Miller says, as should anyone at risk for a stroke and anyone who must take the blood-thinning drug Coumadin.

One of the first times Miller noticed the herb-bleeding link, he says, was when a man on whom he did a facelift developed "a collection of blood."

"He swore he didn’t take anything," Miller says, "but on further investigation, [we learned] he’d taken diet pills with ephedrine in them."

Ephedrine comes from the herb ephedra, also called ma huang, which has been implicated in heart attacks and strokes. It also causes the blood pressure to rise, Miller says, and that can cause bleeding during an operation.

St. John’s wort can cause that same effect, he says. An estimated 7.5 million Americans take this supplement to ease anxiety, mild depression and sleep disorders.

The problem with vitamin E, on the other hand, appears to be more like that with aspirin, Miller says. Many people take a vitamin E supplement regularly because they believe it helps prevent heart disease.

But people who "mega-dose" on vitamin E, which Miller says can happen simply by taking a 400-unit pill regularly, can "get sort of an acquired clotting disorder, which results in excessive bleeding [and] interferes with platelets sticking to one another and forming the clot." Platelets are fragments of blood cells that help the blood clot, or form a scab.

Miller isn’t alone in his observations. The American Society of Anesthesiologists also wants people to stop taking herbal supplements at least two weeks before surgery, saying that just because something is considered "natural," it’s not automatically "safe." A survey the group did of people awaiting surgery reveals that 22 percent had used herbal remedies of some sort and 51 percent had taken vitamins.

And earlier this month, doctors attending an Atlanta conference of the American College of Physicians and American Society of Internal Medicine were advised of the need to be more aware of the interactions between vitamins, herbs and traditional prescribed medications because more and more of their patients are turning to alternative therapies.

The blood-thinning effect of some herbs, in fact, "is very useful in many cases, but not if you’re going under the knife," Green says. "That’s very often how and why they’re used."

"That doesn’t mean any of these things are bad," she says.

But for people anticipating cosmetic surgery, Miller says, the results can be particularly upsetting.

"They’re undergoing a purely 100 percent elective procedure, and right or wrong they have an expectation to be back out in public ... and back to work ... as soon as possible," he says. "Significant bruising can really impair their recovery."

Physicians have to start asking -- specifically -- about vitamin and herbal supplement use in their pre-operative evaluations, Miller says.

"If you have more bleeding than normal [during an operation], you’ll spend a fair amount of time stopping that bleeding, and visualization can be impaired, too," Miller says. "Never mind just the short-term influence on the post-operative course, but this [bleeding] can interfere with the entire result, based on your inability to perform the surgery to the best it can be done."


17. Salmonella Scare Prompts Dietary Supplement Recall
WASHINGTON, April 27, Reuters -- The Solgar Vitamin and Herb Company of Leonia, New Jersey, is recalling 754 bottles of Solgar’s Digestive Aid 100’s dietary supplements because of possible salmonella contamination, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday.

The recalled dietary supplements were distributed from March 30 to April 20 to retail stores nationwide and in other countries, including France, Israel and the United Kingdom, the FDA said.

The product comes in brown bottles with yellow labels that have an orange stripe on the bottom and carry the lot number 31993 or 30957.

The label reads in part "Solgar Dietary Aid Dietary Supplement -- 100 tablets -- Sugar and Starch Free."

No illnesses from this product have been reported, the FDA said in a statement.

The agency said the recall was launched after a routine sampling program detected salmonella in the raw material, pepsin, that was used in Solgar’s dietary supplements.

Salmonella can cause serious, and sometimes fatal, infections in young children and people with weakened immune systems.

The FDA advised consumers to destroy the recalled dietary supplements or return them to the store for a refund.


18. Lack of Industry Oversight May Endanger Consumers, Government Report Charges
By Robert Hager

WASHINGTON, April 10, NBC News -- The government doesn’t hear about the vast majority of health problems associated with dietary supplements, according to an unpublished report from the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services that was obtained by NBC News. The lack of industry oversight puts consumers at risk, the report says, and increased regulation is needed to safeguard public health.

The report concludes that the ability of the Food and Drug Administration to serve as a consumer safeguard is hampered by a serious lack of information about dietary supplements. For example, the agency was unable to determine the ingredients in 32 percent of the products mentioned in adverse event reports. And the report notes that in one recent year, when the FDA received 470 reports of bad reactions to dietary supplements, the nation’s poison control clinics actually treated 13,000. Meanwhile, the products are more popular than ever. More than 150 million Americans take dietary supplements, which include vitamins, minerals and herbal products.

Most are presumed to promote health. But some, like ephedra, may cause blood pressure problems and strokes, experts say, and ginkgo biloba can lead to excessive bleeding while St. John’s wort may block the effectiveness of anti-viral drugs. Research on ephedra that was commissioned by the FDA concluded that the supplement poses risks that far outweigh any benefits it might have. Results were published last November in The New England Journal of Medicine. It is one of a vast number of dietary supplements sold in the United States as products with "natural ingredients" that, unlike prescription drugs, aren’t required to undergo premarket approval for safety and effectiveness. Instead, the FDA relies on companies, physicians and consumers to identify and report safety problems. "Right now consumers are playing a game of Russian roulette because no one is sorting out products that work from those that don’t," said Bruce Silverglade of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Critics say that is because Congress, conscious of the popularity of dietary supplements, protects the industry from having to report problems to the FDA. "If something is marketed as a dietary supplement, the onus is then on the FDA or other regulatory agencies to show that it is unsafe," said Dr. Stephen Traub of the New York City Poison Control Center. But the companies that distribute dietary supplements say the system works, and they’re committed to providing consumers with the best information possible. And many people, like Michelle Edwards, who took ephedra, report good experiences.

"It gave me more energy to do things and just completely changed my life," she said. While the FDA has received claims of 70 deaths among ephedra users, an industry-financed study turned up no problems. "The bottom line is that in our studies we found that there were no real health consequences, significant health consequences, to individuals that were taking these products," said Dr. Carol Boozer of New York Obesity Research Center.

Nevertheless, the health department report concludes that the whole oversight system needs to be overhauled if the public’s health is to be protected. Among other recommendations, the reports says supplement makers should be required to report all side effects to the FDA so that the agency can alert consumers, they should register their products -- providing a detailed list of ingredients -- with the agency, and ingredients in supplements should be standardized to guard against contamination.


19. Tough New Rules Needed for Dietary Supplements
By Paul Recer

WASHINGTON, April 18, AP -- Tough new rules are needed to monitor the sale and use of dietary supplements, the vitamins and herbs now used by about 60 percent of Americans, a government study says.

A draft report of the study by the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general’s office said federal regulations now do a poor job of protecting the public from the risks of dietary supplements.

The report said supplements do not undergo premarket safety approval procedures of the Food and Drug Administration, and manufacturers are not required to report adverse health effects experienced by people taking the supplements.

Instead, the report said, the FDA relies on voluntary reports of adverse health effects and "rarely reaches the point of knowing whether taking a safety action is warranted" for a dietary supplement.

The study urged regulations requiring supplement manufacturers to register themselves and their products with the FDA and to report any adverse health results to the agency.

A recent FDA study, the report said, estimated that the agency learns of fewer than 1 percent of adverse events involving dietary supplements, even though some, such as ephedrine alkaloids or ginkgo biloba, have been linked to serious side effects.

Often the FDA is unable to determine the ingredients in products mentioned in adverse event reports, because labels are missing from 77 percent of products mentioned in such reports, the study found. Even the city and state where the products were manufactured was missing from 71 percent of the products named in adverse reaction reports, the study found.

"Our evaluation of FDA’s dietary supplement adverse event report system leads us to conclude that ... the potential of the system to serve as a consumer safeguard is inherently limited," the draft report said. It said the current system "cannot serve as an adequate safety valve."

The report said dietary supplements are "increasingly popular," used daily by about six out of 10 Americans.

Dietary supplements include vitamins, minerals, herbs and amino acids. Such supplements can be beneficial, but they can also carry health risks, the report notes. In the past, the FDA has warned about ephedrine, which can cause strokes, and about some herbal products marketed as sleep aids or weight control formulations that caused heart attacks, strokes, even death.

The Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade organization of dietary supplement manufacturers, said the report was seriously flawed and demanded extensive revision of the draft before the report is made public.

"The report paints a negative picture of the dietary supplement industry, implying that many companies are fly-by-night operations that FDA has difficulty locating," said a letter to the inspector general’s office from Annette Dickinson, the council’s vice president.

Instead, she said, 65 manufacturers known to the agency account for about 75 percent of the dietary supplement products on the market.

Dickinson said the trade group worries about "the negative view of dietary supplements that we believe pervades the IG’s report" and asked that extensive changes be made before the report is completed.


20. Poisonous Herb Plant Prompts FDA Warning
WASHINGTON, April 26, AP -- The Food and Drug Administration is warning people to stay clear of a poisonous plant mistakenly labeled as "tasty."

The plant, known as Autumn Monkshood [or as Aconite -- Aconitum napellus], remains poisonous even after it’s cooked. Valleybrook Gardens Ltd., a Canadian nursery, distributed the plant -- labeled as being "tasty in soup" -- to nurseries in Washington state, Idaho and British Columbia.

Poisoning could cause irregular heartbeat or direct paralysis, leading to death, the FDA and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Thursday. Other symptoms include tingling limbs, burning or tingling mouth or tongue, muscle weakness and stomach problems. Anyone who eats the plant should go to a doctor immediately.

The plants, which have tall violet-blue flowers, were packaged in blue plastic pots and distributed starting in early March. The agencies think about 1,500 already have been sold.

There are no known illnesses or injuries.

People with concerns may call Valleybrook Gardens at 1-604-855-1177 or the Canadian Food Inspection Agency at 1-613-225-2342.


21. Attention Pot Growers: Sign Here for Legal Buyers
By Brian Laghi

OTTAWA, April 3, Globe and Mail -- The federal government may soon start licensing angels of mercy to supply the desperately ill with marijuana.

Ottawa will unveil proposed new regulations this week making it legal for third parties to grow and supply marijuana for those who need it to relieve the agony of terminal illness and other conditions.

The new rules will allow people who require the drug to alleviate suffering to designate a grower on their behalf, sources told The Globe and Mail yesterday.

The rules will also set out three categories of people who will be allowed to seek exemptions from prosecution for using marijuana. Government officials would only identify one category -- the terminally ill.

Officials familiar with the proposal say Ottawa would grant licences to people for possessing and for growing or supplying marijuana.

The move comes four months before a court-imposed deadline forcing the federal government to act on the issue.

"The licences to produce would be either for the individual who has asked for the exemption, or they can designate someone," said the source, who asked not to be identified.

An advocate for people who require the drug to relieve symptoms was overjoyed at the news.

"I think it’s terrific. It’s a big move forward," said Philippe Lucas, director of the Vancouver Island Compassion Society. The society is a Victoria-based organization that advocates the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

"It’s a realization that a lot of sick people will not have the health or the knowledge to grow it themselves -- that they need a third party to do it."

The regulations will be unveiled by the end of the week and the general public will be given 30 days to respond. New regulations must be in place by the end of July, and come after the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that the country’s laws forbidding the possession of marijuana are unconstitutional and gave the federal government one year to amend them.

The decision resulted from the case of Terrance Parker, a 44-year-old epileptic who won a 23-year court battle for the right to smoke and grow marijuana to control his seizures.

Mr. Parker’s hydroponic garden was raided by police in 1997. The new regulations would allow people like Mr. Parker to grow their own or designate someone else to do it for them.

"We’re trying to correct the contradiction that on the one hand allows someone to take it for medical reasons and on the other makes it illegal to actually produce it, buy it or grow it," the source said.

The other key feature of the new rules clarifies just who can and can’t apply for exemptions.

Currently, people who believe their suffering can be eased by medicinal marijuana can apply for an exemption from prosecution for growing or using it.

However, lawyers for medicinal marijuana users say applications for exemptions go into a "black hole" at Health Canada and that not many people receive approval. The federal government has supplied exemptions for 210 people.

Ontario alone has about 150,000 individuals who might benefit from marijuana’s ability to ease the symptoms of AIDS, cancer, epilepsy and other conditions.

"This is designed to make it more transparent and more regular for people," the source said. "You have to create the infrastructure to support what had originally been seen just as a few exemptions."

The government is also working on setting up clinical trials to get a more scientific understanding of which conditions might be best alleviated by the drug.

The federal government has recently agreed to tender a contract to a Saskatoon-based company to produce marijuana for medical purposes, but the first delivery of the drug will not take place for about a year and Health Canada officials needed to develop a strategy to make it available in other ways.

[With a report from Susan Bourette.]


22. Echinacea Farmer, Neighbour to Clash in Court over Destroyed Crop
By Conrad Richter

April 30 -- A Minnesota echinacea farmer is taking his neighbour to court for destroying his crop two years ago. At issue is the value of a six and a half acre field of Echinacea angustifolia, the popular cold-remedy herb.

It was the neighbour, Charles Brantner, who started legal action against the echinacea farmer. Brantner Farms sued for "adverse possession", claiming that Lee Garner, the echinacea farmer, had no right to farm the land. When Brantner disked the echinacea field, destroying the crop in its first year, Garner counter-sued.

According to Garner, Brantner is not the legal owner of the land; Garner bought the land five years ago. But Brantner improperly claimed a subsidy for the land under the Conservation Reserve Program, a federal program whereby the government pays landowners to take farmland out of production. When Garner plowed the idle land in 1999 and seeded Echinacea angustifolia, Garner was first physically threatened and then sued by Brantner. That’s when Brantner disked the echinacea field and reseeded it with grasses in a bid to get the land qualified for the subsidy program again.

The case is significant because the court will be asked to determine the value of a first year perennial crop which does not begin to yield marketable product until the second year at the earliest. The court will be asked to assess the value of leaves, seeds and roots that would have been produced from the crop.

Brantner hired agronomist Dr. Cheryl Wachenheim of North Dakota State University to assess the value of the crop and the lost profits. In an affidavit filed with the court, she puts the damages for lost profits at over $90,000 (before fixed costs). However she writes, "It is extremely important that the speculative nature of these estimates be considered." In a second calculation, which she recommends to the court, she puts the damages at no more than the cash rent value of the land, about $339 per year for the 6.5 acres.

In an affidavit filed by leading herb crop expert Richard Alan Miller on behalf of Garner, Wachenheim’s numbers are disputed. Miller claims that Wachenheim erred in her assumptions and incorrectly quoted production data from his and other authors’ books. Miller argues that the value of the crop is much more than Wachenheim’s highest figures, even in the face of declining market prices.

The case is scheduled to be heard in Moorhead, Minnesota, on May 15.


23. Native American Elders to Address Medicinal Plant Conservation
ARLINGTON, Va., April 24, Medicinal Plant Working Group -- A Council of Native American elders nominated by the Ethnobotany Committee of the Medicinal Plant Working Group met in Arlington, VA, April 5-6, 2001, fulfilling a long-term component of the MPWG strategy.

The group chose a chair, elected a board, and agreed on a mission. They also outlined an initial set of action items to achieve. Members include representatives from the Navajo, Mohawk, Yurok, Catabwa, Cherokee, Kumeyaay, and Accohanock tribes. Among the tasks they identified is the development of a list of plants of cultural significance and conservation concern to tribes, by habitat and region.

The elders have also endorsed the industry symposium proposed and sponsored by Aveda and other members of the health care products industry, who are also PCA-MPWG members. This group of elders will actively participate in planning for that event, scheduled for this fall.

This industry-sponsored symposium will provide background on why it is important for medicinal and aromatic plant companies to develop policies and action plans to conserve these species in trade. Included will be success stories and break-throughs in the conservation and cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants. Workshops will offer opportunities to learn and contribute on topics that include: how to locate data on the conservation status of plants in trade; cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants; wildcrafting; and more.

Although plants in global trade will be covered, the focus will be the state of the U.S. medicinal plant market. Also, the symposium will include Native American perspectives on sustainability. A forum to discuss industry action to preserve medicinal and aromatic plant biodiversity around the world will also be a component.

The goal of the symposium is to make this the first of many such meetings led by the industry to discuss and, hopefully, resolve issues of conservation concern.

[Symposium: Industrial Leadership in the Preservation of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, September 27-29, 2001, Philadelphia, PA.]


24. New Natural Health Products Group Aims to Build Industry
GUELPH, April 3, University of Guelph -- Improving the quality, quantity and global competitiveness of Canadian natural health products is the aim of a new "virtual" group being established at the University of Guelph.

The Natural Health Products Technology Cluster (NHPTC) will be made up of companies involved in the development of new products and markets. The NHPTC will capitalize on collaborative opportunities with public- and private-sector partners, investigate the efficacy of individual products and disseminate consumer information about them, and develop recommendations for standardized labelling for these products.

Natural health products include herbal remedies, vitamin and mineral supplements -- including garlic, ginseng, echinacea, St. John’s wort -- and nutraceuticals like omega-3 fatty acids, including DHA, which can be added to milk, cheese and eggs to provide a range of health benefits.

"With the increased consumption of natural health products, including botanicals and nutraceuticals, has come a need to increase the size and competitiveness of the natural health product industry in Ontario, and to provide consumers with more information to ensure they are confident in the quality, safety and efficacy of these products," says Julie Conquer, director of the University of Guelph’s Human Nutraceutical Research Unit, which will oversee the cluster. "This initiative builds on the University of Guelph’s nationally recognized reputation for agri-food teaching and research. We have a critical mass of people in food production and testing, food science, nutritional science, applied nutrition and agricultural economics, as well as important agri-food private- and public-sector partners located in and around Guelph. This makes Guelph the logical base for this cluster."

To date, the cluster has five charter members and is looking to recruit 30 more from several sectors in the next several months, including government agencies, researchers, growers of NHPs, trade associations, exporters and retailers. The cluster will be largely "virtual" in nature, with an interactive Web site and high-speed e-mail system, as well as regular on-site conferences and seminars.

Conquer, who along with Prof. Bill Bettger, Human Biology and Nutritional Sciences, is co-director of the cluster, says the provincial economy will be a key beneficiary of the group’s activities. "To meet demand, we need to be able to develop the industry’s infrastructure, market and science base in order to create a competitive advantage for our members," says Conquer. "These are high-value products with a potentially enormous economic impact. Many natural health products are, in effect, weeds, so a producer could earn a lot of revenue on existing land from plants that are relatively easy to grow."

Initial feasibility funding for the cluster was provided by the Agri- Food Adaptation Council. The cluster start-up follows the establishment in 1999 of the Office of Natural Health Products by Health Canada.


25. Herbs and Spice Sector Taking Root in Canada
By Arthur Hanks

April 17, just-food.com -- Herb and spice production is taking root in Canada; growing demand, government support and new crops are pushing up growth, but industry faces challenges with marketing, business practices and new regulations. Arthur Hanks reports:

Facing low commodity prices in an increasingly competitive global market, many Canadian farmers have diversified production away from traditional field crops. Some have decided to focus on the high value crops of herb and spice production.

Production in Canada has grown markedly over the past decade, keeping pace with fresh market growth. New crops, improved agronomics and varieties, and better processing are all pushing up levels of production.

According to the provincial ministry of Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF), the markets for herb and spice crops seem big, as projected global sales of C$500bn by 2010. "If Saskatchewan gets 1% of that market, that’s C$500m for the province," says Dr Abdul Jahlil of SAF.

To succeed Canadian producers have to face new markets, learn new business practices and work through new regulations. Connie Kehler from the Saskatchewan Herb and Spice Association (SHSA) admits that the industry is in its early stages, but sees good progress so far. "Canada’s competitive edge is a clean climate, and cooperative efforts on R&D," says Kehler. "[We also have] innovative producers who are capable not only of production but are also able to adapt machinery to fit crops’ needs."

Kehler also stresses a good governmental support system has helped the industry grow. Other Canadian advantages include large amounts of potential acreage, and, more surprisingly, cold winter weather -- winterkilling weeds out plants that are less than hardy and improves quality

These factors have led SHSA members to grow an estimated 30,000 acres of herb and spice crops in the province last year. Ten years ago, this acreage was negligible. Other provincial groups across Canada report strong growth over the last decade as well.

Tapping the Potential of Organics

To date, significant crops have included caraway, coriander, borage, dill, echinacea, feverfew, ginseng and many others. Herb crops are often grown via certified organic production methods, while spices are generally not.

Capturing markets is a major challenge. According to Kehler, many producers find marketing to be difficult. But as there is no typical herb or spice producer, there is no typical market.

One big buyer is US-based McCormick and Co., which attributes the growing US spice and seasonings market to consumers wanting new and bolder tastes. McCormick’s -- which manufactures, markets, packages and distribute spices and seasonings -- reported US$2bn in sales for fiscal end of 1999.

On a smaller scale, Ontario-based Global Botanicals markets and manufactures herbal products across Canada. "Our primary clients are small restaurants and restaurant supply chains," says Joel Thuna of Global Botanicals. His company also makes significant sales in ingredients and in the sales of herbal extracts.

Other market growth is with small food companies, horticulture businesses or even down pathways that lead direct to the consumer, such as farmer markets, or farmgate sales. All together, these small markets are substantial.

Marketing -- The Farmer’s Responsibility?

But to supply these niche markets means some of the marketing responsibilities will have to be borne by the farmer. SAF’s Jahlil says the herb and spice sector is best viewed as a full business, as herb farming shouldn’t end with production. Attention has to be paid to quality, processing and marketing.

Some producers are capturing these value-added opportunities, and are moving into different segments on the supply chain. Commercial growers who perform these added functions will reap higher revenues.

The Internet is also filling a role in finding new markets as more producers get online and business becomes more used to using new tools. One example of a new herb marketing initiative is www.lonewolfherbdi.com.

Nutraceuticals a Growing Outlet for Herbs

Outside the food markets, the nutraceutical sector (including functional foods) is growing fast. While the Canadian nutritional market is estimated at about C$1bn, the USA, with a market estimated to be 25 times that, is far bigger and very attractive.

According to Thuna, the growing market for herbs in Canada is due to a graying population, who want to keep their health and avoid so-called ageing diseases. The other major demographic of herb buyers is women. Similarly, they are also concerned about their health and they also trust natural remedies.

But for all these trends to be made good, much will depend on how new regulations are developed in Canada. With industry groups like the SHSA and the Saskatchewan Nutraceutical Network (SNN), Ottawa’s Office of Natural Health Products is working to develop standards and claims for Canada’s new natural health industry for 2001. A system of licences will monitor and regulate the industry. If the new natural products package results in a liberation of the marketplace, herb producers will undoubtedly benefit as they will not just be selling commodities, but something with a higher value: health.

Running Before They Could Walk: Ginseng Glut

Another problem is at the production level, with supply sometimes exceeding the maturity of the market. For example, growers in BC and Ontario grew over 1 million lbs. of the ginseng root in 1998; however, low international commodity prices forced North America’s largest buyer of ginseng to seek temporary creditor protection. In a similar story, borage production climbed to 20,000 acres in 1999 but fell down to 3000 acres in 2000

By focusing on more value-added activities, farmers could hope to avoid the boom and bust economic cycle that seems to be as much as a part of farming as the weather.

There is a great deal of opportunity for the Canadian herb and spice industry to supply the growing markets. But this industry is still taking root.


26. Tobacco Growers Experimenting with Herb Crops
By Bruce Smith

CONWAY, S.C., April 27, AP -- Like many others across South Carolina’s tobacco patch, Greg Hyman’s greenhouse is lined with green-gold plants headed for sunny fields. This is not tobacco, however, but herbs that one day might help growers offset the loss of tobacco dollars.

"We have to start somewhere," says Hyman, a fourth-generation tobacco grower.

Ten acres of herbs are being planted as a test this season by farmers in the Pee Dee, the tobacco-growing area in the state’s northeast corner named for the river that winds through it.

"Can we grow it and will the customer buy it?" Hyman asks as he walks through the greenhouse where 250,000 seedlings of common and golden feverfew float in plastic flats, their white roots reaching through holes to the water below.

If the answers are yes, Hyman says, "Then we will start looking at the viability of this crop to produce cash for the Pee Dee, just like tobacco."

Based on Clemson University researchers’ work on what herbs might grow well here, farmers will plant feverfew, a medicinal herb used to treat fever and headaches, and valerian, which has been used as a sedative.

Lawsuits against tobacco companies, anti-smoking efforts and higher cigarette prices have not been good to those who grow the leaf. The Agriculture Department predicts domestic tobacco consumption will drop 25 percent during this decade because of higher taxes and retail prices.

Last season, South Carolina growers sold 72 million pounds of tobacco worth $127 million, down from 80 million pounds worth $135 million the year before. That means farmers must grow less tobacco under the federal price-stabilization program.

"I’m kind of backed into a corner. With the way they have this tobacco cut, I’m willing to try anything," says Jerry Breland, whose family farms near Ruffin. This year they are planting 180 acres of tobacco, down from 350 acres four years ago.

There are other crops, but few that bring in as much as tobacco. A farmer would have to grow four acres of cotton to bring in as much as one acre of tobacco.

While tobacco is in decline, domestic sales of medicinal herbs such as nonprescription diet supplements topped $4.2 billion in 1999. Nutraceuticals, or foods with medicinal value, are an $86 billion industry worldwide.

The idea now in South Carolina is to simply test the herbs, not immediately put a lot of money in farmers’ pockets.

"To grow the herbs was not an economic decision," says farmer Ben Williamson from Darlington, who also has seen his quota and income go down. "We wanted to do it and see if they would grow and see how the buyers receive what we have grown."

Feverfew has daisy-like flowers and grows 1 to 3 feet tall. It and tobacco both are started from seed in greenhouses, transplanted and similarly harvested. Researchers think tobacco curing barns might be used to dry the herbs.

While the main reason to look at growing herbs is to replace tobacco money, Hyman said, "The second thing we found out is there was not a great deal of difference between growing this and growing tobacco. The next thing we found out is we can probably use some of our equipment."

Breland is a little skeptical. "There were going to be so many things that were going to take the place of our crops and hardly any of them worked out," he said.

Growing herbs under scientifically controlled conditions will ensure a uniform product, said David Gangemi, executive director of the National Nutraceutical Center in Charleston. The center, a consortium of Clemson, the South Carolina Research Authority and the Medical University of South Carolina, was established to help promote development of the industry in the state.

Gangemi hopes to have 30 growers in five years, but estimates it will take $3.5 million to get the industry up and running. That will help establish a certification system to ensure herbs’ quality and eventually help other farmers get into the business.

"We’d like to see a new agribusiness in South Carolina. It won’t just be tobacco growers," Gangemi said.


27. Model Organic Farmers Struggle To Stay Afloat
By Dennis T. Avery

CHURCHVILLE, Va., April 2, Bridge News -- Jon Watts and Jenny Tutlis grow five acres of organic crops in northwest Michigan, and their Meadowlark Farm is featured in the May-June issue of Organic Gardening magazine.

Both of the young farmers grew up in the suburbs, went to college (art history for her, biology for him), then to New Guinea with the Peace Corps. They learned about organic production on a community-supported farm in Wisconsin.

Now they grow produce for 40 nearby families on a "subscription" basis--$460 a year for a weekly box of in-season fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers.

On a given summer day, they may have four varieties of eggplant ready for harvest, along with fancy salad greens, flowering basil and broccoli. The artichokes may be nearly ready too, and the garlic drying in the rafters of the old barn needs to go into the customer boxes as well.

Then the boxes have to be driven to the drop-off points. The kids need supper, and some of the bills are due. That’s all besides the eternal battle with weeds, insects and the planting schedule for later in the season. It’s a tough life.

Last year, they had 80 families. They had to work 16-hour days, fitting in their two little kids and the housework as best they could. It was too much, so this year they’ll do more off-farm work in the winter. (She’s a waitress, he’s a movie projectionist.) They also hope that cutting back will help regain control over the insects.

They say that with the 80 families, they brought too much land into production too fast. They couldn’t get at the weeds when they were small enough to pull or hoe easily.

They may have planted too soon after the cover crops were plowed down, before the green manure had fully decomposed. They may have overfertilized with turkey manure. In the complex biology of an organic field, it’s hard to get precise answers.

Whatever the cause, they were inundated by root maggots, squash bugs and other pests. They keep chickens on the farm, which are good at eating bugs and scratching up beetle grubs but they also eat some of the produce as well.

At least one field is always in buckwheat, which the two organic farmers call "organic Roundup" because of the way it suppresses weeds. They plant one-third of their land in flowers, which the customers like almost as much as the lady bugs, bees, green lacewings and other beneficial insects that visit them.

Watts has come up with a novel method of insect control: a field vacuum. Carrying a Shop-Vac and a portable generator in a wheelbarrow, he moves up and down the rows sucking insects off the plant leaves.

But it takes time, because it has to be done over and over. The Michigan organic farmers sound like wonderful, hard-working folks. But if organic farming like this is the hope for feeding the world, we aren’t going to eat well.

When a field is in flowers to attract beneficial insects, it isn’t producing bread or feed grain. When the squash bugs ruin much of the squash crop, that means we must devote more land to squash and less to wildlife habitat. Ditto for the free-range chickens wandering the produce plots.

Organic farming is also very labor-intensive. I greatly admire the willingness of Watts and Tutlis to work hard. But how would we draft another 25 percent or 40 percent of the population to weed crops and vacuum insects by hand, instead of pursuing lucrative urban careers?

Then there’s the shortage of organic biomass. It’s not that big a deal on five acres of organic vegetables, but the eco-activists are telling us that all farming should be organic.

The Department of Agriculture says America has less than one-third of the organic nitrogen (found in manure and stalks) to support today’s farm output, let alone tripling it for the future.

Thus we might have to clear half the forests east of the Mississippi for green manure crops like buckwheat, clover and rye, that aren’t used for food or feed, but just plowed back into the soil.

What would the effect be on wildlife habitat of a 40 percent yield reduction on the world’s 1.7 billion acres of cereal grains? Watts and Tutlis haven’t even been able to buy their farmland. They need to be near their customers, so the land they need has development potential and is priced accordingly.

The most poignant part of the story is when Watts discusses his ruined squash crop.

He flipped over a butternut squash with his sneaker, and the ground swarmed with the squash bugs that were sucking the life out of his crop. "There are thousands of them in here--thousands upon thousands. ... It’s ruined."

[Dennis T. Avery is based in Churchville, Va., and is director of global food issues for the Hudson Institute of Indianapolis.]


28. Spicy Reputation as Cure-All and Mind-Altering Drug
By Kristin Eddy

CHICAGO, April 30, Chicago Tribune -- Part of the appeal of nutmeg in 16th Century England was its alleged medicinal value, as Giles Milton writes in "Nathaniel’s Nutmeg":

"London’s leading doctors of physic made increasingly extravagant claims as to the efficacy of nutmeg, holding it to cure everything from the plague to the `bloody flux’ [dysentery], both of which were regular visitors to the capital sweeping through its unsanitary back streets with devastating effect.

"It was not just life-threatening illness that nutmeg was said to cure. A growing interest in the medicinal value of plants had led to an explosion in the number of dietary books and herbals, all of which claimed that nutmeg and other spices were beneficial in combating a host of minor ailments."

Sound familiar? Nutmeg may not be a big feature in modern nutritional supplements, but it continues to attract attention for its alleged narcotic value. Natural substances in the seed are said to produce mild euphoria -- as well as some dangerous side effects -- when consumed in great quantities; the topic also has produced a number of Web sites.

Normal use of the spice, which rarely tops a teaspoon per recipe, will have no effect whatsoever.

What is Nutmeg?

Technically, it is the fruit of the nutmeg tree, Myristica fragrans. What we consider nutmeg is the oval seed of the fruit. The light brown surface of dried nutmeg is slightly wrinkled. The interior is solid, with a network of dark brown veins containing the volatile oils that give nutmeg its flavor and fragrance, a combination of sweetness and warmth.

What is Mace?

It is the lightweight lace netting, or aril, surrounding the nutmeg seed. Blades of fresh mace are bright red, but dry to an orange or yellowish-tan color. The flavor of mace is stronger and slightly more bitter than that of nutmeg.

Nutmeg Types

Most nutmeg on the U.S. market comes from Indonesia, with additional imports from the West Indies and Sri Lanka. Indonesian nutmeg has a high volatile oil content and is considered to be the most aromatic and flavorful. West Indian nutmeg, from Grenada and Trinidad, is milder and lighter in color.

In the Kitchen

As is often the case with spices, most recipes call for such small amounts of nutmeg that it usually gets stale before the bottle is empty. Whether you use nutmeg regularly or hardly at all, the best results come from buying whole nutmeg and grinding it only as needed. Pre-ground nutmeg has already lost much of its oil and, depending on where it has been purchased, may be stale by the time it gets to the kitchen.

Grind nutmeg using the finest holes of a flat grater or a nutmeg grinder, found in specialty kitchenware shops.


29. Nutmeg’s Intoxicating Pungency Captivates Cooks, Treasure Hunters
By Kristin Eddy

MANADO, Indonesia, April 30, Chicago Tribune -- Just off the highway, at the turn in the road leading to the village of Desa Koka, a hitchhiker hailed the approaching flatbed truck. It was hot already, sweltering even in the shade, and the paved single lane up the hillside climbed steeply, so the truck slowed enough for him to hop in the back.

Ahead was the shared destination, a plantation with acres of graceful nutmeg trees growing alongside clove trees and creeping vanilla vines.

Many people looking for nutmeg come here to northern Sulawesi and other nearby islands as they did centuries ago.

While nutmeg is now a common ingredient that has to fight for cooks’ attention amid exotic and often fiery seasoning blends, the seed once drew adventurers from around the world eager for this spice’s gentle aroma.

Nutmeg still comes primarily from Indonesia, which produces 75 percent of the world’s crop, according to Sam Filiaci, director of the Indonesia office of Cooperative Business International, a U.S.-based trade development group. Most of the rest comes from the West Indies and Sri Lanka.

A visit to these islands shows how an ancient agriculture developed into an international business that holds onto elements of its past. The plantations in Desa Koka, for instance, are owned by local farmers but are slowly being organized into cooperative ventures by larger organizations such as Cooperative Business International.

The harvesting remains labor intensive, as workers tie machetes around their waists, hoist woven bags onto their shoulders and climb handmade bamboo ladders to cut the peach-size fruit from the tall, slender evergreen trees. Surrounded on its stem by a fan of glossy oval leaves, nutmeg hides its treasure under layers: green skin covers a soft pulp, at the center of which is the hard nutmeg seed and its lacy, bright-red membrane of mace.

Indonesia’s 6,000 to 7,000 annual tons of nutmeg pass through processing plants such as one run by a woman named Poppy in a suburb of Manado, a small coastal city on the northern tip of Sulawesi. Here, workers separate skin and pulp from the seed, carefully remove the mace netting, and leave the mace and nutmeg to dry in the sun.

Despite its parasitic appearance while it clutches the nutmeg’s kernel, fresh mace is such a beautiful red that the baskets look as though they are cradling rose petals. These webs eventually shrivel and fade and are sold whole or ground.

The nutmeg seeds, meanwhile, are scattered outside to dry over lengths of burlap until the outer shell can be loosened with a machine press.

Workers move in and out of the two-room building, where windows open to let in air and sunshine and the doors are thrown wide to compensate for a lack of air-conditioning. Men dressed in Western-style polo shirts haul baskets of mace and bulging sacks of dried whole nutmeg; when the heat and humidity get to be too much they wander to the entranceway to crouch, backs against the wall, and share a cigarette with anyone else on break.

The back room, where wizened shells are separated from the seeds, is a female domain. Attired in baggy T-shirts and loose-fitting blouses, sarongs or pants pulled up to the knees, the women work quickly and repetitively, cracking the shells with small hammers, and easing out the nutmeg with small picks. A few girls and boys also are at work, sitting on crates, rickety stools and mats.

"It’s a very simple process," Filiaci said. "It’s done almost the way it was done a few centuries ago."

Although the local economy owes a lot to the nutmeg seed, the cuisine does not. The pulp of the nutmeg fruit is consumed more frequently, in the form of jams and syrup; food is more likely to be seasoned with turmeric, galangal (a ginger relative) and chilies.

Even in the U.S., nutmeg becomes a top-selling spice only at the end of the year, according to Laurie Harrsen, director of public relations for consumer products at McCormick & Co.

"It still is a holiday spice for Americans," says Harrsen, noting that it is primarily used in baked goods, desserts and specialty beverages such as eggnog.

Nutmeg has broader culinary appeal in Europe, where it is a traditional flavoring agent in French cream sauces, Italian stuffed pasta dishes and Scandinavian meatballs. The spice also plays a part in seasoning mixtures from Indian curry to Jamaican jerk.

These workaday uses are quite a comedown for nutmeg, which was truly coveted at one time. It was a fragrant ceremonial gift for biblical royalty and a means of payment for the ancient Romans. The spice flavored meats and vegetables, desserts and drinks, especially in northern Europe. The seed also contains mildly hallucinogenic properties that gave it status as a stimulant and aphrodisiac.

In the Middle Ages, the aromatic powder "was used-piteously-as a fumigant against the plague," the late Elizabeth David wrote in "Spices, Salts and Aromatics in the English Kitchen."

By the 17th Century, the English became so enamored of nutmeg’s real and imagined potency that fashionable men and women started carrying silver nutmeg boxes, outfitted with graters, so that they might shave a bit onto their meat or ale at any time.

Early foreign trade was facilitated by Indian and Chinese sailors, who brought spices to India and sold them to Arab merchants; from them, the spice went north. It was a laborious, time-consuming and profitable business for all involved, with the product changing hands many times before reaching the market.

But as with any object of desire, consumers weren’t satisfied with the irregular supplies. A priority for Europeans embarking on an era of exploration was to control the source of such a valuable commodity.

Around 1503, Italian explorer Ludovico de Varthema came upon the island of Banda, east of Sulawesi in what is now Indonesia, and shared his information with the Portuguese.

Varthema’s accounts of Banda and its nutmegs "were more tantalizing to the Portuguese imagination than America’s rumored El Dorado, with its lakes of silver and gold," the late Charles Corn wrote in "The Scents of Eden." The Portuguese, the Spanish, the Dutch and the English soon plotted their own gold rush to Banda and the other "Spice Islands" famous for nutmeg and other fragrant vegetation.

Spanish royalty funded expeditions for Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan, neither of whom reached the islands. In 1577, England’s Queen Elizabeth I backed Sir Francis Drake, who returned from the Spice Island of Ternate to a hero’s welcome, according to Giles Milton, author of "Nathaniel’s Nutmeg," a history of the period.

"Men and women turned out in force to watch the arrival of the ship in Plymouth, and Queen Elizabeth herself came aboard the vessel and conferred a knighthood on her gallant commander," Milton writes. "Drake’s astonishing feat of seamanship fired the imagination of Elizabethan England and fueled the belief that the East was a land of fabulous potentates."

English merchants formed the East India Company to finance regular spice expeditions. The first British colony anywhere in the world was the tiny island of Run, where nutmeg could be bought from natives for a half-penny a pound and resold in Europe for profits reaching more than 30,000 percent, according to Corn.

The Dutch also were aggressive in the spice race, creating the Dutch East India Company and launching a pattern of colonization in the region that lasted until after World War II. So determined were they to control supplies of nutmeg that the seeds were pickled before export to prevent transplantation in other tropical countries. Anyone caught transporting seedlings off the islands could be put to death; it wasn’t until the mid-1700s that an enterprising Frenchman named Pierre Poivre was successful in smuggling from the Dutch.

Once the trees were grown in other tropical countries and the supply increased, nutmeg was no longer an object of feverish desire. Today, the fabled Spice Islands, so long racked by European battles for control, is the site of a violent civil war.

But Americans, at least, continue to have a connection to the area. That Spice Island called Run, the first British colony? It was traded to the Dutch in 1667 for another tiny island, this one in the Americas.

We call it Manhattan.


30. There’s History and Adventure Lurking in Your Spice Rack
By Kristin Eddy

ULAWESI, Indonesia, April 23, Chicago Tribune -- Under the hard light of late morning, the Molucca Sea is stripped of subtler shades of blue, at least when viewed from a hilltop on this island’s northern tip.

There is more color across the water, about 200 miles to the east, in the lush green of three islands now unfamiliar to most Westerners, but whose names once urgently beckoned explorers.

Ternate, Ambon and Banda: the Spice Islands. Their location in this distant sea couldn’t seem any farther away if it was a fairy tale.

Dotted with groves of the nutmeg and clove trees that made them famous, the islands now are dangerous to visit, due to a violent religious conflict that has lasted for more than two years.

Even 500 years ago, getting to these perfumed islands was a challenging, expensive undertaking. But strangers did come, and often, looking for spices that once grew exclusively in the Indonesian archipelago.

The adventurous had to rely on maps such as the one now found across the world, in the cool safety of Chicago’s Newberry Library. Here, in a Portuguese atlas from 1565, is an ancient parchment so delicate it must be handled with gloved fingers. Red lettering and gilt flourishes dot the page. It looks like a treasure map.

It was. The spice trade was a lucrative and exotic adventure for early travelers. Now, our experience with spice is limited to jars that often are as dusty as their contents, and the journey leads only to the supermarket.

Yet at a time when serious cooks pay attention to the growing region of their tomatoes, the age of their balsamic vinegar and the exercise space given a chicken, understanding the origin of spices should be of interest as well. Consumers are much more aware of the quality and origin of produce, according to Tom Erd, owner of The Spice House in Evanston, "and people need to think of spices as produce."

Like produce, spices are fragile. Whether as nuts, bark, pods or plants, all of them start out fresh, bursting with volatile oils.

To better understand their nature, it helps to trace select spices to the source: nutmeg trees in Indonesia, pepper vines and cardamom plants in India and the rough cinnamon bark on trees in northern Vietnam. So over the past year, we traveled from the fields to the spice markets and processing plants where these aromatics are readied for the trip to American shelves.

It’s a shame, after all, to take for granted ingredients that play such an integral role in the daily American diet. The United States is the world’s largest importer of culinary spices, according to the New Jersey-based American Spice Trade Association.

Most of the imported spices go to food processors who distribute the seasoning in ways the consumer doesn’t always consider: Breakfast sausage. Salad dressings. Even some beers.

"Our members’ products are sold to Campbell’s for soup, to Nabisco to put in cookies, to snack companies to put in chips," said ASTA executive director Elizabeth Erman. "Think of the mace in doughnuts and the cinnamon in instant oatmeal."

At the same time, demand for high-quality spices has fueled an upscale business, from the sale of various grades of Spanish saffron at The Spice House in Evanston or the black, white and green cardamom offered by Penzeys Spices, a Milwaukee-based catalog business. At specialty markets and through Internet sites, it is possible to pick up Turkish anise, Pakistani cumin, crystallized Australian ginger and velvety wands of Tahitian vanilla.

The seasoning business is booming.

Today, restaurant-goers seek out more highly flavored foods, according to research done by the National Restaurant Association. The Washington, D.C., trade group cites exposure to international cuisine through travel or simply visiting ethnic restaurants, as the reason for what it calls a "globalization" in tastes. This in turn has encouraged even mainstream restaurant chains to introduce livelier flavors to the American menu.

But when it comes to appreciating spices, no modern consumption figures can match the obsession that once drove some of the most famous explorers in history to launch dangerous expeditions into unknown waters.

Hard as it is to imagine now, the seasonings we take for granted were worth fighting battles over. Ancient Romans demanded pepper as tribute. In the Middle Ages spices were considered currency.

"Spices drove the world economies in those days the way oil does today," said Charles Corn, author of "The Scents of Eden: A Narrative of the Spice Trade," in a telephone interview before his death last month in California.

Spices traveled overland across Asia and the Middle East and in ships that skirted the coastlines of Malaysia, India and Saudi Arabia. It was worth the journey, vulnerable to pirate attack and wild seas, at a time when real power lay in powder; the kind of powder ground from nutmeg, cloves and pepper.

Changing hands several times, spices were at a premium by the time they reached Europe. A pound of mace had the same value as three sheep, according to the ASTA. Pepper, the most valuable spice, was counted out peppercorn by peppercorn, with a value that at times equaled gold.

All this fuss wasn’t simply for seasoning, though the cuisine in much of the world could have used the help. Nutmeg was considered a cure-all; clove oil relieved pain. Other spices were burned as fumigants, stirred into perfume and swallowed as aphrodisiacs.

Chinese, Javanese and Indian merchants traded with the Arabs, who sold their stock north across the Mediterranean. The ancient Romans were lavish consumers; the merchants of Venice in later generations brought a fortune to that city through their domination of the European market.

The exact source of many spices was vague, particularly for the Europeans, as maps were jealously guarded. The need to control the spice trade then became one of the primary reasons for the age of English, Dutch and Portuguese exploration: They all wanted to cut out the middleman.

Christopher Columbus was looking for a shorter route to spices, among other glories, and not only failed to find real Indians but also struck out with black pepper. He did come back to Europe with a bounty of other crops, among them chilies, which ended up with the name "red pepper."

The foreign spice hunters brought their own treasures to Asia.

"The trade could never have existed if people in China and India and what is now Indonesia did not want what the West had, such as gold and silver," said food historian Clifford A. Wright, author of "A Mediterranean Feast."

But what started out as barter eventually led to colonialism. The first British colony anywhere was founded in the Spice Islands in an effort to secure a supply of nutmeg.

"The Dutch were not interested in colonization, nor were the English, but both soon learned that to protect their trade they had to protect it with military might," Corn said.

These days, spices are bought and sold with far less drama.

The trade routes for many spices still start right where they did so long ago, in the tropical regions of India and Asia, but that is due to cheap labor as well as the climate; spice processing is slow work that involves many hands.

But if some of the romance of the spice trade has been lost, try this:

Breathe in the rich aroma of cinnamon from a frosted sweet roll. Grate a little nutmeg over Christmas eggnog. Savor a curry warmed with ground ginger and coriander or brighten up a grilled steak with a shake of Telicherrry pepper.

You’ll realize, if only for a minute or so, why people would travel so far for flavor.


31. Passing Muster: Testing the Mustards of Dijon
By William Rice

CHICAGO, April 16, Chicago Tribune -- Mustard tends to come to market fully prepared in jars, though the Chinese and English persist in selling it in powdered form. These powders achieve a sharp bite when mixed with water to form a paste. America’s perennial favorite, a style called "ball park," is golden yellow (turmeric provides much of the color) and somewhat runny with a sweet-sour flavor.

Over the past two decades, a style of mustard created in the French city of Dijon has become popular here. Dijon mustard is made from ground white mustard seeds and water, flavored with salt and unnamed spices and enlivened with citric acid, vinegar or white wine or unfermented wine grape juice.

Of brands on the local market, Maille is imported from France, as is Roland and the grainy mustard called Pommery. Most of the others are made in the United States.

Recently the Good Eating staff tasted a baker’s dozen of mustards labeled Dijon. Among the elements that played important roles in the judging were the texture, the harmony (or lack of it) among sweet, sour and spice elements, and the degree of bite or sharpness.

"Smooth" and "thick" were often used in regard to texture. "Tangy," "citrus," "sweet-sour" were positive taste descriptors; "salty," "acrid" and "bitter" negative. "Mild" and "lingering burn" were the polar opposites used to describe bite.

Here are the results, with tasters’ comments listed for the top three. Except for the first- and last-place finishers, the scores were tightly bunched. Products are scored on a scale of 1 to 9, with 9 being highest. Prices are based on what we paid for them at the supermarket and may reflect sales or discounts from frequent-shopper cards. Prices per ounce are rounded to the nearest cent.

And the winners are ...

1. Dominick’s Dijon (6.7 points. $2.05, 9 ounces, 23 cents per ounce.) "Smooth and creamy, not as thick as some others." "Nice sweet-and-sour aroma." "Spicy and sharp with a strong closing kick."

2. Grey Poupon Dijon (6 points. $3.15, 10 ounces, 32 cents per ounce.) "Good, rich flavor." "Nice complexity." "Strong, horseradish-like bite that cleans out the sinuses."

3. Roland Extra Strong (5.5 points. $4.69, 13.9 ounces, 34 cents per ounce.) "Thick and fairly smooth with a golden yellow color." "Nicely tangy, a whole lot going on here." "Peppery spice with a winy aftertaste."

Others tasted:

4. The Old Original Bookbinder’s Stone Ground Dijon (5.2 points).

5. Safeway Select Dijon (5.0).

6. French’s Homestyle Dijon (4.8).

7. Laurent du Clos All Natural Dijon (4.7).

8. Hickory Farms Old World Dijon (4.5).

9. (tie) Plochman’s Premium; President’s Choice Dijon (4.3).

10. Maille Dijon Original (4.1).

11. Jack Daniel’s Stone Ground Dijon (3.9).

12. Inglehoffer Hot Dijon (2.3).


32. The One-Bowl Comfort of Asian Noodles
By Cathy Thomas

SANTA, Calif., April 30, Orange County Register -- Yes, like a hungry kid set loose in a 1,000-flavor ice cream store. That’s how the sights, smells and sounds of an open-air market in Vietnam make me feel.

On a recent visit, I couldn’t help gaping in childlike wonder at Hanoi’s Hang Be Market. It appeared as if every vendor had an artist’s eye for color, texture and form.

Hills of fresh fire-engine-red chilies mounded in shallow, mahogany-hued baskets. Displayed at different heights, the baskets rested on an assortment of woven bamboo stands. Surrounding them at ground level was what looked like a produce quilt, made with patches of flowering chives, bumpy bitter melons and baby bok choy.

In the next stall, piles of dragon fruit, an eye-popping magenta, looked downright surreal with their wing-like lime-green spines set against a backdrop of spherical black-green watermelons. The merchant, sitting in front of a sky-high mountain of blimp-shaped jackfruit, smiled warmly from beneath her conical hat.

Gentle clucking sounds escaped from a big-looped wire basket filled with orange-feathered chickens. Their heads poked through as they gobbled grain from a feedbag set next to their cage.

Fowl, fish and flowers. Fruit and vegetables.

And rice, rice paper and ... rice noodles. Fat noodles, thin noodles. Round and flat, straight and curvy. Fresh and dried.

The drooling reached new heights at the noodle "snack" shop. Tucked between two vegetable stalls, this tiny open-air eatery was composed of two oilcloth-covered tables surrounded by tiny red plastic stools.

The enticing smell of burning wood created by the small, three-legged stoves melded with meaty aromas of simmering broth.

Two women prepared one-dish meals for eager customers, who in turn, looked serene while capturing slippery comfort food with chopsticks, bowls held mouth close.

Containers of condiments (chopped peanuts, lime wedges, cilantro leaves and fried shallots), vegetables (pea shoots, bean sprouts and chopped napa cabbage), and chunks of boiled chicken and beef encircled the work area. Plus, of course, several plastic tubs filled with tangles of noodles. Not just rice noodles, but Chinese egg noodles, too.

Patrons had access to squeeze bottles of tangy mixtures; a "table sauce" that is a combination of fish sauce, sugar, lime juice and water (and sometimes, grated carrot and minced garlic), called nuoc cham; and small bowls of thinly sliced fresh red chilies. Noodle dishes, served hot or at room temperature, are designed to accommodate every palate, mild or spicy. Like most Vietnamese dishes, the final spicy-hot add-ons are left up to the individual.

The salty-sweet, spicy-sour combinations of flavors in Southeast Asian noodle dishes are so addictive, I dreamed about one-bowl meals on my long flight home. I imagined future noodle meals, steering clear of pho (pronounced FAH), the traditional Vietnamese beef noodle soup. It’s delectable but can be time-consuming to prepare; flavorful broth, the base of the soup, requires slowly simmered shin bones and oxtails. Instead, I sought delights that were quicker to fix.

Fortunately, Bruce Cost’s new book, "Big Bowl Noodles and Rice" (HarperCollins, $25), was on my desk at home. It’s filled with quick ideas for preparing vibrant home-style concoctions based on Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese noodle-dish traditions. And almost every ingredient in the book is now available at my local supermarket.

Along with being a cookbook author, Cost is a restaurateur associated with the popular chain of Big Bowl restaurants owned by Brinker International (the company that also owns restaurant chains such as Maggiano’s, Macaroni Grill and Chili’s). There are five Big Bowls in the Chicago area, two in Minneapolis and one in Virginia. And, according to Michael Micek, general manager at one Chicago-based Big Bowl, that’s only the start. There are plans in the works for Big Bowl restaurants from coast to coast.

Writing about the success of Big Bowl restaurants in the introduction to his book, he takes delight in America’s growing interest in Asian one-bowl meals.

"After a 2,100-year reign as Asia’s most beloved man-made staple, noodles would seem to be on their way to becoming American, like pizza," he wrote.

"At Big Bowl we know this not only from trade magazine articles about the proliferation of noodle shops and other Asian restaurants in New York, California, and increasingly across the land but because, as of this writing, the customers at our four restaurants (oops, now there’s eight) are slurping down 1 ton of Chinese egg noodles, Shanghai noodles and two kinds of slippery rice noodles every three days. They also take them out, and we deliver them to their doors."

A beloved man-made staple, no doubt.

"Noodle dishes are a big, big part of Southeast Asian cuisine," says Ha Nguyen of Irvine, who is a former restaurant owner and Vietnamese culinary expert. "In Vietnam, we eat noodles for breakfast, lunch or dinner ... in big bowls in big portions. We eat rice noodles, mung bean noodles and wheat noodles.

"Rice is still the main staple, but noodles eliminate monotony. Plus they’re quick and easy to fix, so noodles are often what people look for when they want a quick meal."

Here are two of Bruce Cost’s recipes. His Southeast Asian Pesto, made with fresh Thai basil, fried peanuts, mint, cilantro and serrano chilies, gives room-temperature noodles Asian attitude. The recipe makes three cups of pesto, so if you like, you can use it in a variety of dishes. Stir a little into broth for Asian-flavored soup, or whisk into oil-and-vinegar dressings for green salads with a wake-up flavor surge. Stir it into cooked rice or drizzle it on grilled fish.

For a warm-weather buffet dish, Cost suggests serving his Southeast Asian Noodle Salad With Basil, Lemon Grass and Peanuts. Chinese egg noodles are tossed with chicken, vegetables and herbs, then coated with a lemon grass-scented dressing.

Life is good. I’m a kid in a noodle shop


33. Tips to Keep Your Herbs and Flavors At Their Spiciest
By Kristin Eddy

CHICAGO, April 23, Chicago Tribune -- When was it, exactly, you bought that jar of allspice or cloves? If you can’t remember, you’re in the majority; most cooks use spices in such small amounts that the purchase lasts for years.

And that’s a bad idea. Spices come from plants, and they get their flavor from oils in the seeds or bark. These oils start to lose potency when picked and deteriorate further with time and exposure.

* Purchase spices in small quantities that can be used quickly.

* Always store spices in cool, dark places. That means away from the stove and away from the window or other light sources.

* Keep containers tightly sealed to avoid exposure to air and humidity.

* Purchase whole spices when possible and grind them only as you need them. Consider buying a coffee grinder to use just for spices. Other tools include mortar and pestle, below, as well as graters for whole nutmeg.

Deciding whether a seasoning is a spice or an herb is a matter of custom and of regulation by the Food and Drug Administration.

But generally, spices are considered to come from tropical aromatics, such as pepper, cinnamon and cloves, and tropical seeds, such as poppy and mustard seeds.

Herbs are the leaves of temperate-zone plants.

These are the five most popular spices, based on amounts consumed in 2000.

* Mustard seed

* Red pepper

* Black pepper

* Paprika

* Cinnamon

[Source: American Spice Trade Association.]


34. Add Fragrant Plants to Your Garden
By Kathy Van Mullekom

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., April 5, Daily Press -- Create scented memories by adding fragrant plants to your garden.

"I still remember smelling the lovely lily-of-the-valley stalks from my mother’s garden," says Carol Ann Margolis, an educator at the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News.

Just like color and texture, fragrance adds a special dimension and enticement to enter the garden. Scent in plants come from essential oils -- volatile chemicals that contribute to the essence or odor -- within one or more plant parts.

Temperature, time of day and climatic conditions influence the scent you smell. Each person perceives a plant’s fragrance differently, so it’s difficult to recommend a list of fragrant plants without a disclaimer.

"You may or may not personally find the fragrance pleasant," says Margolis.

If you are looking for a shrub with fragrant spring flowers and brilliant fall color, honey-scented witch alder (Fothergilla species) would be a great foundation planting.

"Placing fragrant plants under windows allows their scents to be enjoyed from inside the house too," says Carol Ann.

For a medium-sized deciduous shrub that blooms later in the summer, consider sweet pepperbush or summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) -- especially if you have a damp area in your garden.

"When we think of fragrant plants we think mainly of flowers, but foliage is an important source of scent for the garden," says Margolis.

Place low-growing herbs as ground covers around stepping stones, or include wax myrtle or bayberry (Myrica species) in your landscape. Their smell will delight you when you brush against these plants.

If you have space for a small multi-stemmed tree with fragrant flowers in your yard, consider planting sweet bay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana). It produces 3-inch, white blooms throughout the summer. Sweet bay is much smaller and not as messy as its cousin, the southern magnolia.

Be careful to plan for sequential bloom in your garden so not all flowers are blooming at the same time. Don’t forget late-fall bloomers such as witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), which produces its fragrant yellow flowers after the leaves fall.


35. Spring’s Siren Call: Early Season Bounty Rewards Gardeners, Cooks
By Renee Enna

CHICAGO, April 2, Chicago Tribune -- Patience may be a virtue, but how to practice it in the spring? In an effort to convince ourselves that it is warm outside, we go coatless earlier than we should. Roll down the car windows much too soon. Order salads when soup is clearly in order.

Gardeners are as restless as anybody, but some actually practice the self-control it takes to wait until conditions are right before planting a thing. In this instance, though, their patience is misguided. There are plenty of vegetables to start growing in mid-April and none offers more nutrition, flavor and beauty than greens.

"There always seems to be a reluctance by gardeners to do season extensions of any kind," says Shepherd Ogden, founder with his wife, Ellen, of The Cook’s Garden seed company in Vermont. "The moment that the ground can be worked, there are all kinds of things that can be planted. You’d be crazy not to."

"We’ve all been brainwashed to think it’s tomatoes, peppers, beans and corn," agrees Rosalind Creasy, author of a series of "Edible Garden" books that blend gardening and cooking information. "But that’s so limiting. Those are all warm-weather plants that can’t take frost. That leaves out 90 percent of the world’s foods."

Cool-season greens, despite their delicate beauty, are hardy enough to withstand the light frosts that occur in mid-to late April. The list includes a rainbow of rich-flavored and multi-colored lettuces such as frisee, lollo rossa, radicchio; hardy herbs such as parsley, sorrel and chervil; and nutritious chard and spinach. These greens offer "a way of adding dense nutrition to your diet," Creasy says, "as well as adding richness and flavor.

"The spring garden, for probably genetic reasons that we don’t even know about, is the most dense with nutrition," Creasy says. "It’s the vitamin C, the folic acids-all that’s in the leafy greens, the cruciferous vegetables. It’s just incredible how many nutrients are packed into kales, cabbages, broccolis and leafy greens."

At the Table

These foods aren’t only for the green-thumb crowd. Spring lettuces and herbs deliver incredibly varied tastes fresh from the garden-or the market. Just be careful to treat most of these greens, especially the mild-flavored lettuces, with subtle support.

"My advice with almost everything is, don’t overdo it," says Bruce Sherman, executive chef/partner at North Pond Cafe in Chicago. "The preparation should let the flavor and product shine. By trying to do too much or adding something that has too strong a flavor, you lose the essence of what you’re working with."

For baby lettuces, Ellen Ogden says, "I highly recommend a very simple vinaigrette-you want the flavor of the greens to come out. You don’t want the dressing to be the dominant flavor."

Sherman is partial to chervil, a beautiful cold-hardy herb. "It’s wonderful for complementing flavors without dominating other ones," he says. "It has an affinity for fish and eggs."

Most spring greens are best paired with similarly flavored foods. "If you’re having a delicate, flaky fish, it’s going to be much better paired with a tender spring green than it would be with a hardy romaine or iceberg," Sherman says. "The same goes for lighter spring soups, say, a poultry broth with spring vegetables."

Fast Growers

For antsy gardeners, many of these plants offer quick rewards. Plant as soon as the soil can be worked and, in the case of baby lettuces and mustard greens, you’ll have a gourmet salad by Memorial Day. Edible flowers such as pansies and violets also like early spring weather. Sturdier greens such as chard and cabbage will take longer to harvest, but they still can be planted early.

The most evocative offerings come from the seed catalogs, which sell an ever-increasing array of options. But lettuces and herbs also can be purchased at nurseries, though the selection won’t be as mind-boggling. They’re pricier than seeds, but good nursery plants have been given a healthy start, thus improving your odds for a successful harvest.

Temperamental Temperatures

Cool weather greens can withstand light frosts. But what about unseasonable weather? Snowflakes and frigid temperatures aren’t always strangers in April.

Everyone we talked to on the subject agreed that snow should not present a problem; it acts as an insulator. But temperatures that dip below 30 degrees can be harmful. Be prepared to cover plants with newspaper, burlap or a commercial fabric sold at garden centers. (But don’t use plastic sheeting, which pulls in the cold, says Wally Schmidtke, garden center manager at Pesche’s.) Container plants can be covered or simply moved to a sheltered area.

Be mindful of the growing requirements listed with the plant or on seed packets. But don’t be nervous.

"These are very forgiving plants, and very rewarding," says Rink DaVee, co-owner Shooting Star Farm near Mineral Point, Wis., who supplies many Chicago-area restaurants with spring greens.

The quality of soil will affect the success of a crop; the region’s thick clay soil is fertile but also very compacted. Soil amendments and fertilizers (organic fertilizer, such as fish emulsion, was recommended by everyone we talked to) can be added.

"In the spring, don’t be too fast to fertilize," says Fran Johnson, catalog coordinator of Territorial Seed Co. in Oregon. "Because the soil is cool it takes a while for the fertilizer to break down. Let the plants become established before adding any fertilizer, and let the soil warm up."

And speaking of soil, if all you’ve got are containers, those will work fine.

"Just about any vegetable can be grown in a container as long as the container holds enough soil to fit the vegetable’s needs," Schmidtke says. Lettuce’s shallow roots will thrive in a shallow container. A mesclun flat is especially easy to start.

Good resources include books, nursery employees and Web sites_the University of Illinois Extension Service (www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/) and the National Gardening Association (www.garden.org) offer great information.

No Time to Garden?

Non-gardeners, take heart: Gardening isn’t the only path to the leafy green stuff. Many supermarkets and produce stores continue to increase their inventory of lettuces and greens.

Peter Fitzgerald, produce director of Sunset Foods, attributes part of the demand to adventurous chefs. "When our customers see something on their plate at a restaurant, then they get an idea of how to prepare it themselves," Fitzgerald says, citing the increased popularity in the last decade of radicchio, Belgian endive, baby spinach and, especially, mesclun.

"Case by case, mesclun is my best-selling lettuce," says Jim Bilbrey, produce buyer for Treasure Island. "I buy more cases of mesclun than any other lettuce. It’s been that way for over two years." The mesclun he buys contains 6 to 14 varieties, depending on the season. Typical players in mesclun include arugula, baby red and green oak leaf, baby red and green romaine, baby spinach, lollo rossa, frisee, radicchio, baby mustards, baby kale and tatsoi, an Asian green. The store also sells several of these on their own.

Fitzgerald notes that packaged salad blends also have fueled consumer interest. "At first we couldn’t sell the more exotic blends," Fitzgerald says, "but since these packaged salads have come out, people are taking more chances."

Storage

Washing greens can take time, because the leaves’ folds can hold dirt and small insects. A salad spinner is the best tool in terms of speed and efficiency, but you can also soak the greens in a bowl of cold water. Dry them well so salad dressing doesn’t get watered down.

Ellen Ogden wraps freshly washed and dried greens in paper towels, puts them in a plastic bag and then puts them in the refrigerator crisper until they’re ready to serve. "Otherwise, the greens will start to wilt," she says. "And you really don’t want to dress them until you’re ready to eat them." (If topping salads with edible flowers-such as the pansies on the mesclun in our cover photo-dress the greens first, then top with flowers.)

Try to use baby greens and herbs within a day of harvesting. Sturdier lettuces will keep two to three days.

If there’s a drawback to these cool weather greens, it’s that many will lose steam when hot weather comes around.

"Some of the spinach and lettuces won’t do well in the summer," Territorial’s Johnson says, "and then it’s time to plant something else." (Like tomatoes, peppers, beans and corn.)

But you won’t have to wait an entire year to enjoy your spring bounty again. The vegetables that thrive in early season coolness will perform just as well in the fall, Schmidtke says.

Wait. There is another risk to growing them in the back yard, DaVee says: "The greens will look so beautiful, you might not want to cut them."


36. New England Herbal Expert to Write National Column
CHICOPEE, Mass., April 26, PRNewswire -- Kathleen Duffy, Medical Herbalist and owner of the Herbarium, in Chicopee, is now a contributor to the national magazine, Healing Retreats & Spas. "From The Herb Garden," a question and answer article about herb and aroma therapy, debuted in the April/May issue and will be a regular feature.

Duffy, a nurse for more than thirty years, a medical herbalist for more than twenty and after more than two years of intensive study now certified as a Clinical Aromatherapist and instructor, is renown in the New England region for her herbal expertise. Her very popular call-in radio show, "Herbs for Health & Healing," which began in 1992 recently ended when WNNZ became a sports-only station. Duffy’s loyal audience remains in contact with her through her store and website: www.theherbarium.com. Duffy continues to share her knowledge through classes with students at area colleges and medical facilities. Many doctors and health care practitioners feel comfortable enough with Duffy’s qualifications to refer their own patients to the Herbarium.

There is no shortage of healing anecdotes and stories from Herbarium customers. Many go to the store for information as well as to purchase Duffy’s specially blended herbal products. "Mineral Tea" and "Money Oil" are constant favorites.

Eden Marriott Kennedy, editor of Healing Retreats & Spas says, "Kathleen is great to work with!" and adds that having Kathleen as a regular contributor is a wonderful addition to their national magazine. Healing Retreats & Spas currently has a circulation of 155,000 each issue and is published 6 times per year.


37. Richard E. Schultes, 86, Authority on Hallucinogenic Plants, Dies
By Jonathan Kandell

NEW YORK, April 13, New York Times -- Richard Evans Schultes, a swashbuckling scientist and influential Harvard University educator who was widely considered the preeminent authority on hallucinogenic and medicinal plants, died on Tuesday in Boston. He was 86 and lived in Waltham, a Boston suburb.

Dr. Schultes (pronounced SHULL- tees) was often called the father of ethnobotany, the field that studies the relationship between native cultures and their use of plants. Over decades of research, mainly in Colombia’s Amazon region, he documented the use of more than 2,000 medicinal plants among Indians of a dozen tribes, many of whom had never seen a white man before.

"I do not believe in hostile Indians," Dr. Schultes was quoted as saying in a 1992 article about him in The New Yorker by E. J. Kahn Jr. "All that is required to bring out their gentlemanliness is reciprocal gentlemanliness."

Tall, muscular, wearing a pith helmet, he hiked and paddled through Amazonia for months at a time. He collected more than 24,000 plant specimens. More than 120 species bear his name, as does a 2.2 million-acre tract of protected rain forest in Colombia, Sector Schultes, which the government there set aside in 1986.

"The last of the great plant explorers in the Victorian tradition," was the way one of his former students, Wade Davis, described him in his 1985 best-selling book, "The Serpent and the Rainbow" (Simon & Schuster).

But more than a real-life Indiana Jones, Dr. Schultes was a pioneering conservationist who raised alarms in the 1960’s -- long before environmentalism became a worldwide concern -- that the rain forests and their native cultures were in danger of disappearing under the onslaught of modern industry and agriculture. He reminded his Harvard students that more than 90 tribes had become extinct in Brazil alone over the first three-quarters of the 20th century.

"He believed ours would be the last generation fortunate enough to be able to live and work among these tribes as he had," wrote one of Dr. Schultes’s disciples, Mark J. Plotkin, in "Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice," (Viking, 1993), "to experience their traditional way of life firsthand, and to record their vast ethnobotanical knowledge before the plant species -- or the people who used them -- succumbed to the march of progress."

Dr. Schultes’s research into plants that produced hallucinogens like peyote and ayahuasca made some of his books cult favorites among youthful drug experimenters in the 1960’s. His findings also influenced cultural icons like Aldous Huxley, William Burroughs and Carlos Castaneda, writers who considered hallucinogens as the gateways to self-discovery.

Dr. Schultes disdained these self- appointed prophets of an inner reality. He scathingly dismissed Timothy Leary, the drug guru of the 1960’s who also taught at Harvard, for being so little versed in hallucinogenic species that he misspelled the Latin names of the plants.

According to a 1996 article in The Los Angeles Times, when Mr. Burroughs once described a psychedelic trip as an earth-shaking metaphysical experience, Dr. Schultes’s response was, "That’s funny, Bill, all I saw was colors."

Dr. Schultes may have contributed to the psychedelic era with his ethnobotanical discoveries, but to him these were the sacred plants of Indians that should be studied for their medicinal value. He was in many ways a throwback to an earlier epoch of scientific research. He had no interest in publicity or self-promotion. Rather than confine himself to a narrow specialty, he was a generalist who crisscrossed several scientific disciplines.

Dr. Schultes taught more by personal example than by the use of forceful intellect. His lecture room resembled an ethnographic museum, with huge maps of Amazonia, native dance costumes, demon masks, opium pipes, dried specimens of medicinal and hallucinogenic plants, and a blowgun for poison- tipped darts, whose use he sometimes gingerly demonstrated in class.

His former student, Dr. Plotkin, recalled a lecture in which the professor showed slides of masked dancers in the Amazon under the influence of a hallucinogenic potion. Referring to himself, Dr. Schultes told the class: "The one on the left has a Harvard degree. Next slide please."

Richard Evans Schultes traced his fascination with the South American rain forests to the fantasies evoked while he was bedridden as a child. He was born on Jan. 12, 1915, in Boston, where his father was a plumber and his mother was a homemaker. Confined to his room for months with a stomach ailment when he was about 5 years old, he listened enraptured to excerpts read to him by his parents from "Notes of a Botanist on the Amazon and the Andes," a travel diary kept by the 19th century British naturalist Richard Spruce. The impression left by those passages was so powerful that the boy decided to follow in Spruce’s footsteps.

Receiving a full scholarship to Harvard, Mr. Schultes wrote an undergraduate paper on the mind-altering properties of peyote, based on research he undertook with Kiowa Indians in Oklahoma who ingested the hallucinogen in ceremonies to commune with their ancestors. For his doctoral thesis, also at Harvard, he chose the plants used by the Indians of Oaxaca, a southern state of Mexico. In his research there, he came across a species of morning glory seeds that contained a natural form of LSD.

In 1941, Dr. Schultes traveled to the Colombian Amazon, where he would spend most of his field research, and an area Spruce had studied. At first, Dr. Schultes concentrated on plants that produced curare. This substance, used by Indians as a fast-dissipating poison to hunt prey, also proved to be vital as a muscle-relaxant during major surgery in hospitals. The professor identified more than 70 plant species from which the Indians extracted curare.

Dr. Schultes was deep in the Colombian rain forest when news of Pearl Harbor reached him more than a week after the Japanese attack. He immediately made his way back to Bogota, the Colombian capital, and visited the United States Embassy to enlist in the armed forces. But the United States government decided his World War II services would be much more valuable as a botanist doing research on natural rubber, particularly since the Japanese occupied the Malayan plantations that accounted for much of the world’s rubber supplies.

Dr. Schultes soon became the leading expert in the field, collecting and studying more than 3,500 specimens of Hevea, the tree family that produces the latex from which rubber is made.

Throughout the 1940’s and until the early 1950’s, Dr. Schultes lived almost continuously in the South American rain forests, with only brief visits to the United States. On his journeys through the tropics, he traveled lightly. He navigated scores of tributaries of the Amazon River, using an aluminum canoe that he could handle himself, though he usually hired Indians as paddlers and guides.

His supplies included a single change of clothing, a camera and film, a hammock and blanket and a machete and clippers for plant collecting. For food, he carried only cans of instant coffee and Boston baked beans, preferring to rely on food offered by his Indian hosts. This included the ground manioc roots that were their staple, fish, wild game, insect grubs, fruit and chicha, a drink made from fruits chewed and fermented by spittle.

His medicine kit consisted of vitamins, antibiotics and morphine -- in case he broke a limb and had to be transported for days before he could receive proper treatment.

To collect and preserve plant specimens, Dr. Schultes devised a method field researchers still use today. He soaked his plants in formaldehyde diluted with water and then pressed them between newspaper sheets. "On a good day, out in the forest, Schultes would collect 20 or 30 specimens that he thought merited further attention," Mr. Kahn wrote in The New Yorker. "Along a riverbank, where foraging was easier, he sometimes bagged 80 or 90."

Often Dr. Schultes would consult local Indian shamans about the properties of these species. A number of these medicinal plants now carry his name, including, among many others, Pouroma schultesii, a bark whose ashes are used to treat ulcers, Piper schultesii, a stem brewed as a tea to relieve tubercular coughs, and Hiraea schultesii, leaves whose soakings are used to cure conjunctivitis.

Dr. Schultes asserted that contrary to popular conceptions, Indian shamans were eager to share their medical secrets with outsiders. But "time is running out," he warned in a 1994 article in the journal The Sciences, asserting, "The Indians’ botanical knowledge is disappearing even faster than the plants themselves."

In 1953, Dr. Schultes moved back to the United States as a professor and botanical researcher and curator at Harvard. Six years later, he married Dorothy Crawford McNeil, an opera soprano who performed in Europe and the United States. His wife survives him, as do their three children, Richard Evans Schultes II, a corporate executive; Alexandra Ames Schultes Wilson, a physician; and her twin, Neil Parker Schultes, a molecular geneticist.

Dr. Schultes, who retired from Harvard in 1985, published 10 books and more than 450 scientific articles. For 18 years, beginning in 1962, he edited the scientific journal Economic Botany, and over much of the same period, he served as an active member of the editorial boards of Horticulture, Social Pharmacology, the Journal of Latin American Folklore and other publications.

Among numerous awards, he received the 1992 gold medal of the Linnean Society of London, which is often equated to a Nobel Prize for botany.


38. Herb Business News
AIM: Launches Weight Loss Partnership Plan

BOISE, Idaho, April 23, BW Healthwire -- The AIM Companies ("AIM") announced today, the latest addition to their holistic, comprehensive Health Solutions(TM) Program.

The AIM SlimMetrix(TM) Weight Loss Partnership provides a high quality program to people who want to lose weight while maintaining an optimum level of health. Unlike current dietary drinks, shakes and supplements, that generally contain artificial flavorings, colorings and additives, AIM’s weight loss products are 100 percent natural and formulated to provide consumers a healthier alternative to weight loss.

The cornerstone of AIM’s Weight Loss Partnership is SlimMetrix(TM), a nutritionally balanced, fruit smoothie which helps to balance blood sugar levels, increase energy and manage weight. SlimMetrix(TM) gives the body nutritional components that support your overall health while losing weight.

SlimMetrix(TM)Smoothie Components

The main ingredient in the smoothie is real blueberries, no artificial flavorings are added. Vegetable fiber derived from beets and artichokes are added to promote digestive health, weight loss and suppress hunger. Soy protein is added to provide up to 8 grams of protein per serving.

In addition to SlimMetrix(TM), AIM’s Weight Loss Partnership includes a dietary "booster" supplement containing chromium, which has been found in studies to not only assist in fat loss, but also to maintain lean muscle mass. The more lean muscle mass, the faster the metabolism; even at rest. A higher metabolic rate burns fat more efficiently. The booster also contains manganese, tyrosine and an herbal blend. These supplements enhance thyroid function, provide additional nutrients and help to regulate blood sugar levels.

Well-Rounded, Comprehensive Approach

Not only has AIM taken into account the need for nutritional support while trying to lose weight, but they understand the need for emotional and educational support as well. Included in the Weight Loss Partnership Plan is a weight loss journal, guide and audio tapes designed to help consumers track their food intake, plan meals, establish an exercise routine and offer words of encouragement. These tools will help consumers to make lasting changes in their nutritional health.

"A diet program that works, works over a lifetime; it provides the consumer with the tools necessary to maintain weight loss in the long-run," said Dr. Andrew Myers, vice president of product research & development and chief science officer for The AIM Companies. "AIM SlimMetrix(TM) Partnership does this in a simple, easy-to-use program."

The AIM Companies

The AIM Companies, located in Nampa, Idaho, has been the innovator in whole food concentrates since the early 1980’s, with the introduction of Barleygreen, a green powder derived from a naturally grown plant food source. In its first full year of business, AIM had $500,000 in sales. AIM has grown into an international company with over 110,000 members/distributors in 7 countries and over $65 million in sales. Throughout this period of growth, AIM’s commitment to making a profound difference in the lives of others has remained constant. Today, AIM offers a unique family of products derived from naturally grown plant food sources which utilize an exclusive plant-based delivery system as a comprehensive means to managing whole body health.

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AIM: Introduces Ginkgosense for Neurological Health


NAMPA, Idaho, April 23, BW HealthWire -- Today, the AIM Companies (AIM), pioneers in nutritional, whole food concentrates, announced GINGKOSENSE(TM), their latest, scientifically advanced, contender in herbal supplements.

GINGKOSENSE(TM) helps to maintain neurological health as we age, particularly the body functions that have a tendency to deteriorate such as memory, concentration and vision.

Unlike other mass-marketed gingko supplements that are manufactured using gingko alone, GINGKOSENSE(TM) provides advanced health benefits which are derived from the addition of complimentary components that specifically target neurological function. Along with gingko biloba, GINGKOSENSE(TM) contains DHA, bilberry, lutein and zeaxanthin. According to Terry Hartley, Ph.D., and AIM Research Coordinator, "This is an exciting formulation for those of us in the baby boom generation and above. A new study by Florida International University shows that supplementation by the elderly with lutein and zeaxanthin can reduce the risk of age related macular degeneration by 82 percent. The positive effects of gingko on memory and circulation, are well established and bilberry is a rich source of antioxidants."

DHA

DHA is an essential fatty acid, that is produced in very small amounts in the body; the vast majority of fatty acids must be derived from our daily food intake. Unfortunately, many Americans don’t get enough DHA in their diets, particularly vegetarians. DHA is most abundant in the brain and the retina of the eye. Studies have shown that DHA may reduce the risk of depression and dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease). In addition, DHA plays a strong role in the photoreceptor cells of the retina, which suggests a link between DHA and healthy vision over time.

Bilberry

Bilberry, which is closely related to the American blueberry, cranberry and huckleberry, provides good overall support for a healthy nervous system. It is also a strong antioxidant and helps to protect the eyes.

Lutein and Zeaxanthin

Recent studies have shown that diets rich in lutein and zeaxanthin may reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration and cataracts -- two common aging problems.

Gingko Biloba Extract

Gingko is the number one selling dietary supplement on the market today, and for good reason. Gingko increases blood flow to the extremities and to the brain. It stands to reason that this increase in blood circulation would result in the brain receiving more oxygen and glucose. Studies show this additional circulation of nutrients to the brain has resulted in significant improvement in patients with some form of dementia.

The AIM Companies

The AIM Companies, located in Nampa, Idaho, has been the innovator in whole food concentrates since the early 1980’s, with the introduction of Barleygreen, a green powder derived from a naturally grown plant food source. In its first full year of business, AIM had $500,000 in sales. AIM has grown into an international company with over 110,000 members/distributors in 7 countries and over $65 million in sales. Throughout this period of growth, AIM’s commitment to making a profound difference in the lives of others has remained constant. Today, AIM offers a unique family of products derived from naturally grown plant food sources which utilize an exclusive plant-based delivery system as a comprehensive means to managing whole body health.

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Amber: Introduces Herbal Formula to Fight Deadly Dog Disease


WEST JORDAN, Utah, April 9, PRNewswire -- Amber Technology, a natural health care product provider, announced today the introduction of Parvaid, an all-natural herbal formula which can help animals overcome the fatal disease Parvo.

The Canine Parvo Virus is an aggressive illness often resulting in death in less than a week. Parvaid’s blend of herbs can help Parvo victims fight off the virus. Parvaid can also be used for vomiting, diarrhea, corona, distemper, e-coli and ghiardia.

Parvaid calms the animal’s stomach muscles, allowing for the natural antibiotics to enter into the intestinal tract where the virus lives. Parvaid has an 85 percent success rate and takes an average of two days to help the animal overcome the virus. If Parvo is treated early the dog will generally recover the same day.

"Thanks for saving my 3-year-old puppy Buzz," said Lisa Rediker, a Parvaid customer from Cedar Hill, Tenn. "It’s a miracle. I recommend this to everyone and anyone who loves their dog."

"We take pride in being able to help save our customers pets and to make families happy," said Cindy Van Komen, managing member of Amber Technology. "We genuinely care about your animal’s health."

Amber Technology keeps detailed records and stays in contact with our customers to get an accurate survival rate.

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GNC: Guarantees Quality of Its Proprietary Products


PITTSBURGH, April 20, PRNewswire -- In the face of consumer activists questioning the quality of many dietary supplements and government officials calling for more stringent regulation, General Nutrition Companies, Inc. (GNC) said today that all of its GNC brand products are guaranteed to contain the ingredients listed on the product label in the indicated quantities.

As a leader in the supplement industry with 65 years experience, GNC formulates and manufactures its products using standards that meet and often exceed those required by the FDA.

"We employ very stringent tests on all of our GNC brand products confirming truth in labeling," said Greg Horn, CEO of GNC. "This is an important distinction and one that should give consumers the confidence they need since not all manufacturers do this. We believe it is necessary to educate consumers on GNC’s commitment to product quality in light of recent studies and news stories questioning the ingredient content of supplements."

Despite the misconception that vitamin supplements are not regulated, GNC voluntarily performs a number of quality control tests to ensure that all GNC brand products consistently deliver the intended benefits. To further confirm a product’s health benefits, GNC invests in scientific research including clinical trials in areas such as bone and joint health, cognitive function and weight control.

Acquired by Royal Numico in 1999, a worldwide market leader in specialized nutrition, GNC now has direct access to top scientists and nutritional research resulting in patent-pending formulas exclusive to GNC -- the nation’s largest specialty retailer of dietary supplements.

GNC’s first product line to utilize Numico research is the Preventive Nutrition(R) brand, which is a portfolio of scientifically designed supplements formulated for specific nutritional concerns.

"The Preventive Nutrition(R) brand represents a new model for the dietary supplement category, which historically has been driven by commodity-based products, with little differentiation between brands," said Horn. "We are targeting specific health issues with formulations based on clinical research. In addition, ongoing clinical trials on key patent-pending formulations are being conducted to confirm efficacy and quantify benefit."

In addition, the products are packaged in unique, recyclable blue-glass bottles, which provides a superior moisture barrier while preventing light from destroying nutrients.

General Nutrition Companies, Inc. (GNC), based in Pittsburgh, PA is the largest nationwide specialty retailer of vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements, sports nutrition as well as many personal care and related products. GNC operates more that 4,200 retail outlets throughout the United States and 26 foreign markets including Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico. GNC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Numico N.V., a worldwide market leader in specialized nutrition that includes infant and clinical nutrition and nutritional supplements. Headquartered in Zoetermeer, The Netherlands, Royal Numico’s operations include manufacturing facilities in more than 50 countries and research facilities in the U. S., The Netherlands, Germany, the U.K. and Australia. In addition to GNC, Royal Numico’s family of companies includes Rexall Sundown, Inc., a major supplier to the mass market based in Boca Raton, FL., sports nutrition leaders Met-Rx and Worldwide Nutrition and the multi-level marketing operation of Enrich International.

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Herbalife: First Quarter 2001 Sales Down 12.8%


LOS ANGELES, April 25, Business Wire -- Herbalife International, Inc. today reported that its first quarter 2001 financial results continue to reflect an unfavorable impact from currency translation and slower sales in the Asia/Pacific Rim Region.

For the 2001 first quarter, net income was $8.6 million, or $0.29 per diluted share, compared with net income of $5.9 million, or $0.19 per diluted share in 2000. In the first quarter of 2000, there was a one-time pre-tax charge of $9.5 million, equivalent to $0.18 per diluted share, relating to fees and expenses in connection with a terminated proposed buy-out transaction. Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations (approximately $0.13 per share), net income for the first quarter 2001 would have been $0.42 per share compared to $0.37 in the prior year excluding the one-time charge.

Christopher Pair, Herbalife’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "While we continue to face challenges, many of the initiatives announced earlier in the year are now in place. I am encouraged by the enthusiasm and dedication of our distributors, and I am confident we are building on a solid base for the future."

Retail sales for the 2001 first quarter declined to $399.7 million from $458.4 million in the 2000 comparable quarter. Of the retail sales decline, about 43 percent is attributable to foreign currency fluctuations. The remainder is primarily related to volume declines in the Asia/Pacific Rim region. In local currency, first quarter 2001 retail sales decreased 4.7 percent in the Americas and 19.1 percent in the Asia/Pacific Rim Region, and increased 7.7 percent in Europe.

Also included in net sales, beginning with this quarter, is Handling and Freight income as a result of the Company adopting a new accounting pronouncement, which requires that certain revenues be "grossed up" that had previously been netted against Royalties and Marketing, Distribution and Administrative expenses. There is no impact on net income and prior years have been reclassified on a comparable basis. Net sales for the 2001 first quarter, after the effect of distributor allowances and Handling and Freight income, totaled $245.8 million compared with $281.0 million in the same 2000 quarter.

Marketing, Distribution and Administrative expenses totaled $89.8 million for the first quarter 2001, a decline of 8.9 percent from $98.6 million (excluding the one-time charge) in the comparable 2000 quarter. The year-to-year decrease resulted from lower operating expenses in corporate headquarters and country distribution centers, from lower foreign exchange losses compared with the prior year and from the timing of sales events, that were more heavily weighted toward the beginning of last year.

The Americas. Retail sales for the 2001 first quarter decreased 6.2 percent, to $150.1 million from $160.1 million in the 2000 first quarter. Retail sales in the United States decreased 10.5 percent, to $109.8 million for the 2001 first quarter from $122.7 million in the prior-year quarter. The prior year first quarter in the United States benefited from several new product introductions. Retail sales in Mexico increased 35.8 percent, to $21.4 million for the most recent quarter. Retail sales in Brazil decreased 31.5 percent to $7.9 million for the 2001 first quarter. The decline in Brazil is attributable to currency fluctuations and their related impact on product pricing.

Asia/Pacific Rim. In the 2001 first quarter, retail sales decreased 26.5 percent, to $136.5 million from $185.6 million in the 2000 first quarter. The decline was primarily attributable to the Japan, South Korea and India markets. Japan’s retail sales of $81.6 million represented a 24.7 percent decrease from the same quarter last year. In local currency, Japan’s retail sales decreased 17 percent compared with the same quarter last year. South Korea retail sales amounted to $20.7 million in the 2001 first quarter, compared with $31.0 million in the comparable prior-year period. Japan and South Korea continue to be impacted by sluggish economies and increased competition. India’s retail sales of $2.9 million is a 77 percent decrease from the prior year first quarter. The decline in India reflects an initial period of rapid growth in its first year of operation followed by a retrenchment to a more sustainable sales level.

Europe. In terms of local currency, the European market increased 7.7 percent over the prior-year period. Due to weakness in currency exchange fluctuation, retail sales as measured in dollars were up only slightly to $113.0 million compared to $112.7 million in the same quarter last year. Within the region, retail sales in Germany increased 9.3 percent to $19.7 million while sales in Italy decreased 5.9 percent to $27.2 million. In local currency, Germany was up 18 percent and Italy was up 1 percent over the comparable prior-year period.

Herbalife International, Inc. markets nutritional, weight management and personal care products in 50 countries worldwide. Herbalife products are available only through a network of independent distributors who purchase the products directly from the company.

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Natrol: Introduces Sleep’N Restore for Sleepy Americans


CHATSWORTH, Calif., April 12, Business Wire -- Natrol Inc., a leading manufacturer and distributor of nationally branded dietary supplements, announced the launch of Sleep’N Restore(TM), a special formulation designed to help consumers get a sound and restful night’s sleep.

Sleep’N Restore(TM) is an herbal, antioxidant formula that combines the popular sleep ingredient Melatonin, the clinically tested herbal ingredient Valerian and powerful antioxidants like Glutamine, a key body amino acid, and Vitamin E.

Sleep’N Restore(TM) was developed to address restless nights and groggy mornings.

The combination of Melatonin and Valerian was formulated to promote the body’s natural sleep mechanism, thus causing a more restful deep sleep while the antioxidants support the body’s natural restoration processes, allowing consumers to wake refreshed and rejuvenated.

Elliott Balbert, chief executive officer and president, commented: "When evaluating the sleep-aid category, we noted that despite the myriad of products on the market, over 50 percent of Americans still experience problems falling asleep or achieving a truly restful night’s sleep.

"Sleep’N Restore(TM) works by first helping users to fall asleep and then ensuring that the sleep they get is really restful. Sleep’N Restore(TM) offers consumers a natural alternative to traditional over-the-counter sleep aids."

Sleep’N Restore will hit store shelves this May in the OTC category.

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Nature’s Sunshine: Flat First Quarter Sales


PROVO, Utah, April 19, Business Wire -- Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc., a leading manufacturer and marketer of encapsulated herbs and vitamins, today announced operating results for the quarter ended March 31, 2001.

Sales revenue for the quarter ended March 31, 2001, was $81.7 million compared to $81.4 million for the same period in the prior year. Net income for the first quarter totaled $4.0 million compared to $4.5 million for the same period in the prior year, a decrease of approximately 11 percent. Basic and diluted earnings per common share for the first quarter were $0.25 compared to basic and diluted earnings per common share of $0.26 for the same period in the prior year.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2001, the Company’s international operations achieved record sales revenue of $35.7 million compared to $32.0 million for the same period in the prior year, increasing approximately 11 percent and accounting for approximately 44 percent of total sales revenue. This record growth reflected strong gains in South Korea, Venezuela, the Russian Federation, Ecuador and Mexico. In an effort to improve its business in Japan, the Company installed a new management team effective April 1, 2001.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2001, the Company’s domestic operations reported sales revenue of $46.0 million compared to $49.4 million for the same period in the prior year, a decrease of approximately 7 percent. During the first quarter, the Company initiated a new management approach in the U.S. aimed at revitalizing this segment.

The number of worldwide distributors was approximately 585,000 at March 31, 2001 compared to approximately 545,000 for the same period in the prior year. The number of worldwide managers also increased to approximately 18,900 from approximately 16,800 for the same period in the prior year.

"We are pleased with the continued sales growth of the Company’s international operations and that earnings per share results were in line with analysts’ expectations," said Daniel P. Howells, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Nature’s Sunshine enjoyed a relatively stable environment during the first quarter, and we are focused to resume our domestic growth."

The Company’s financial position remains strong. Working capital amounted to $43.1 million at March 31, 2001, with cash and cash equivalents of $33.1 million, up from $28.8 million at December 31, 2000.

Nature’s Sunshine Products manufactures and markets through direct sales encapsulated and tableted herbal products, high quality natural vitamins and other complementary products. In addition to the U.S., the Company has operations in South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan, Canada, Colombia, the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Russian Federation, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Central America, Ecuador and Israel. The Company also has exclusive distribution agreements with selected companies in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Norway.

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Nature’s Sunshine: Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend


PROVO, Utah, April 23, Business Wire -- Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc., a leading manufacturer and marketer of encapsulated herbs and vitamins, today declared a 3 1/3 cents per common share quarterly cash dividend payable May 11, 2001, to shareholders of record on May 3, 2001.

The Company has declared consecutive quarterly cash dividends since 1988 pursuant to its cash dividend policy. There are approximately 16 million shares outstanding with 20 million shares authorized.

Nature’s Sunshine Products manufactures and markets through direct sales encapsulated and tabulated herbal products, high quality natural vitamins and other complementary products. In addition to the U.S., the Company has operations in South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan, Canada, Colombia, the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Central America, Ecuador and Israel. The Company also has exclusive distribution agreements with selected companies in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Norway.

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Novartis: Introduces ReSource Wellness Dietary Supplements


SUMMIT, N.J., April 30, BW HealthWire -- Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. has just launched ReSource(R) Wellness, a complete line of dietary supplements developed to help consumers feel better and take charge of their health.

Whether the issue is low energy and stamina, high stress, mild absent-mindedness or a host of other specific age- and stress-related health issues, ReSource(R) Wellness has developed unique blends of herbs, extracts and vitamins to target specific health needs.

For the weekend warriors, who tend to over exert themselves and could use more stamina, there’s 2nd Wind(TM), a combination of two types of Ginseng and other natural ingredients to help muscles recover from physical exertion while improving stamina. ForSight(TM) provides Lutein and Beta & Alpha Carotenes to promote healthy eye function and help maintain macular and retinal health.

For those who want to minimize mild memory problems to maintain concentration, MemorAble(TM) blends Ginkgo Biloba, Lecithin and B Vitamins. And for those consumers who want to maintain healthy cartilage and joint function, there’s FlexTend(TM), which has Glucosamine and an antioxidant complex. The line also offers formulations for immune and vein health, stress and allergy management and osteoporosis.

American Diet May be Lacking

According to a new national market research study involving a sampling of more than 1000 American adults, more than one third (36 percent) of the respondents reported that they suffer from a lack of energy throughout the day. Forty percent (40 percent) said they do not feel rested even after a normal night’s sleep, and 40 percent indicated that a drop in energy made it hard for them to get their work done. Furthermore, only 20 percent believe they always get the vitamins and minerals they need from their diets and 63 percent said they get adequate vitamins and minerals only some of the time.

Barbara Levine, R.D., Ph.D., Co-Director, Human Nutrition Program, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, and Director of the Nutritional Information at New York Hospital -- Weill Medical College of Cornell University, said consuming a variety of fruits and vegetables is a good source of nutrients for maintaining well-being, but it is difficult for consumers to get enough of these necessary nutrients in a typical diet without dietary supplements.

"Most Americans find it difficult to eat a balanced diet, and they often don’t know the combination of foods that have the specific vitamins they need to target their specific health issues," Levine said. "ReSource(R) Wellness, which delivers the right formulations of nutrients to meet consumers’ most important needs, takes the guess work out of choosing appropriate dietary supplements to target those specific needs."

It is estimated that over 91 million adults in the United States have used an herbal remedy in the past 18 months, and almost 45 million say they use them regularly, demonstrating American adults’ growing desire to help themselves maintain their health. But according to Dr. Levine, many Americans are easily confused and frustrated when trying to determine which supplements are best for their specific need.

"Dietary supplements are routinely packaged in such a way that offers no guidance to help consumers choose the supplement that is right for their specific health needs," said Barry Kesten, Marketing Director, Novartis Consumer Health. "ReSource(R) Wellness is committed to educating consumers to help them choose the supplements they need. The ReSource(R) Wellness supplements are clearly labeled to deliver precisely the information consumers need to make an informed decision."

The ReSource(R) Wellness family of products addresses the following leading needs of American consumers:

-- 2nd Wind(TM)for Stamina and Muscle Recovery -- Helps muscles recover faster and improves stamina

-- ForSight(TM)for Eye Health -- Promotes healthy eye function and helps maintain macular and retinal health

-- CalciWise(TM) for Bone Health -- Builds and maintains strong healthy bones and helps lower the risk of osteoporosis (by a delicious chocolate soft chew)

-- FlexTend(TM)for Joint Health -- Supports healthy cartilage and joint function

-- Memorable(TM)for Mental Enhancement -- Minimizes mild memory problems to help maintain concentration

-- ResistEx(TM)for Immune Health -- Helps support a healthy immune system

-- StayCalm(TM) for Stress Management -- Helps manage stress by soothing tension resulting from overwork and fatigue and promotes a positive outlet

-- EnVigor(TM)for Energy Enhancement -- Promotes increased mental and physical energy

-- VeinTain(TM)for Vein Health -- Helps maintain healthy circulation and promotes leg vein health

-- AllerPro(TM)for Allergy Management -- Helps moderate the body’s reactions to external allergens

ReSource(R) Wellness products are available through leading drug, food and chain discount stores.

ReSource(R) Wellness is marketed by Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. Novartis Consumer Health, headquartered in Summit, New Jersey, manufactures, develops and markets a wide range of branded products the purpose of which is to restore, maintain or improve consumer health. Key businesses include OTC (over-the-counter medicines), Health and Functional Nutrition, Baby and Infant Business, Vitamins/Minerals/ Supplements and Ingredients and Medical Nutrition products.

Novartis is a world leader in healthcare with core businesses in pharmaceuticals, consumer health, generics, eye-care, and animal health. In 2000, the Group’s ongoing businesses achieved sales of CHF 29.1 billion (USD 17.2 billion) and invested approximately CHF 4.0 billion (USD 2.4 billion) in R&D. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis employs about 67,600 people and operates in over 140 countries around the world.

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Rexall Sundown: ‘Picture of Health’ Photo Contest Opens Nationally


BOCA RATON, Fla., April 5, Business Wire -- Rexall Sundown today announced the launch of a national Sundown Vitamins "Picture of Health" Photo Contest. Sundown Vitamins is the company’s flagship brand and the No. 1 brand of vitamins, minerals and herbal products sold in mass merchandisers, drugstores and supermarkets nationally.

"We are looking for pictures of people who are living life to the fullest and reflect a happy, healthy lifestyle," stated Lianne Maso de Moya, Vice President, Marketing, Vitamins. "They can be pictures of laughing children at play, dewy-eyed teenagers in the blush of first love, smiling parents adoring a newborn, schoolyard athletes in hot competition, friends sharing a joke, families out shopping, or fun-loving seniors riding their skateboards. It’s all in the eyes of the photographer," she said.

"The concept of this contest is a natural for us," she continued. "As the nation’s leading nutritional supplement company, Rexall Sundown believes in providing its consumers with safe, beneficial vitamin, herb, and mineral supplements that can help them improve the quality of their lives."

"What makes this promotion even more appealing for competing photographers is that they can actually get their film for free," she added. "Information about the free film mail-in offer (up to a $5 value) is available at participating retailers. Proof of purchase of any Sundown vitamin, mineral or herbal supplement is required for the free film, but is not required to enter our Picture of Health Photo Contest."

A $10,000 Grand Prize will go to the person who takes and submits the winning photograph. Additionally, the winning photo will be featured in a Sundown Vitamins advertisement. Judging for the Grand Prize will be based equally on four criteria: uniqueness, creativity, expression and originality.

Five randomly selected First Prize winners will each receive a new Fuji Digital Camera, valued at $399, and 300 randomly selected Second Prize winners will receive a Fuji one-time use camera valued at $9.99.

To be eligible for consideration, all entries must be postmarked by May 15, 2001 and received no later than May 21, 2001. Participating photographers can enter as often as they wish, but each entry must be in a separate envelope.

Photos must be original and at least 5"x7", both color and black and white are acceptable. The photo must be clear and viewable; no photocopies will be accepted. The submitted photo must be attached to a 5"x7" index card with the submitter’s name, address, city, state, zip code, day phone number, e-mail address (optional) and signature. Participating photographers must also have the written permission of each person featured in the picture. The photo and index card should be sent to: Living Healthy Photo Contest, P.O. Box 240136, Milwaukee, WI 53224-9007. Complete contest rules are available on the company’s website at www.rexallsundown.com.

Rexall Sundown, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Numico, N.V., a world leader in specialized nutrition, including infant formula, clinical nutrition and nutritional supplements, available under such well-known brands as Sundown(R), Met-Rx(R), GNC, Enrich, Rexall Showcase International, Nutricia, Milupa and Cow & Gate. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Royal Numico operates in more than 100 countries and employs more than 28,000 people.

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Shaman: Study Documenting Diabetes Epidemic


SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., April 5, BW HealthWire -- Shaman Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that results published in February’s Diabetes Care, of the federally initiated study performed through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), emphasize the importance of Shaman products for treating type 2 diabetes, and Syndrome X, the precursor to diabetes.

The CDC study shows that the number of Americans developing diabetes has increased 41% since 1990. A large proportion of those cases has occurred in adolescent age children, many of which are obese. US scientists have linked the epidemic of diabetes with dramatically rising rates of obesity. Obesity increases the likelihood of developing Syndrome X and type 2 diabetes, and worsens their affects.

"If these dangerous trends continue at the current rates," said Dr. Jeffrey Koplan, director of the Atlanta-based CDC, "the impact on our nation’s health and medical care costs in future years will be overwhelming."

Based on the work of Dr. Gerald Reaven at Stanford University Medical School, who uncovered Syndrome X as the precursor to type 2 diabetes, the Company developed the Syn X Bar formulated to promote healthy levels of insulin, triglyceride (blood fat), glucose and cholesterol. Elevated levels of these components comprise risk factors for heart attack. Shaman’s plans have included conducting clinical studies that will allow the Company to add to the Syn X Bar, its natural weight loss ingredient, SP-494, proven in pre-clinical studies to be an effective weight loss alternative. The Company is similarly poised to add SP-363, a safe plant extract that has been pre-clinically proven to lower triglyceride and glucose levels.

Shaman Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a leader in medicinal plant research and commercialization of proprietary dietary supplements, working with indigenous communities to discover, harvest and reforest medicinal plants. Shaman has retained Roth Capital Inc., an investment bank, to assist in exploring strategic business opportunities to drive shareholder value. This press release contains, among other things, certain statements of a forward-looking nature relating to Shaman’s ability to advance its development and research programs. Such statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties including the Risk Factors listed in the Shaman Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10K and 10K/A for the year ended Dec. 31, 1999. These filings are available at 650/952-7070.

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Shaman: Granted Approval to Assign Lease by Bankruptcy Court


SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., April 12, BW HealthWire -- Shaman Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that assignment of its lease to a biotechnology company has been approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of California, and that Shaman’s landlord has consented to the assumption and assignment of the lease to this company. As a result of this assignment, Shaman will receive a significant one-time cash payment from the company that will be used, in part, to pay creditors and for forward operating expenses. Shaman will also receive six (6) months free rent in its current facilities, further reducing its operating expenses as it completes its reorganization.

This court decision brings to an end six months of negotiations between Shaman and its landlord regarding the assignment of Shaman’s lease agreement. Shaman voluntarily filed a Chapter 11 reorganization petition for protection under federal bankruptcy law, on January 5, 2001, in part because it believed that a bankruptcy reorganization would bring closure to the negotiations with its landlord, and provide the best means of maximizing the value of its lease.

Shaman Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a leader in medicinal plant research and commercialization of proprietary dietary supplements, working with indigenous communities to discover, harvest and reforest medicinal plants. Shaman has retained Roth Capital Inc., an investment bank, to assist in exploring strategic business opportunities to drive shareholder value. This press release contains, among other things, certain statements of a forward-looking nature relating to Shaman’s ability to advance its development and research programs. Such statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties including the Risk Factors listed in the Shaman Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10K and 10K/A for the year ended December 31, 1999. These filings are available at 650/952-7070.

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Tsumura: Recalls 17,000 Boxes of Herbal Cold Remedy


TOKYO, April 24, Kyodo News -- Tsumura & Co., Japan’s largest producer of Chinese herbal medicines, announced Wednesday a voluntary recall of 17,000 boxes of its Kakkonto cold liquid following the discovery of a glass shard in one container last week.

The boxes targeted for the recall were shipped between Feb. 14 and Tuesday.

A glass fragment 2 millimeters long was found inside the container on April 19 at a pharmacy in Osaka. The glass might have got inside the container during the manufacturing process, the company said.

The product was manufactured in January by a Toyama-based pharmaceutical maker. Each box holds three containers.

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Tsumura: To Set Up Herbal Medicine Venture in Shanghai


TOKYO, April 23, Kyodo News -- Tsumura & Co., Japan’s largest producer of Chinese herbal medicines, said Monday it will set up a joint venture with two Chinese partners in Shanghai by this fall to manufacture herbal medicines for sale in Japan and China.

Shanghai Tsumura Pharmaceutical Co., to be capitalized at 2.5 billion yen, will be founded in conjunction with Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine Co. and Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park Development Corp., the company said.

The three envisage establishing the venture in the first half of fiscal 2001, with Tsumura putting up more than half the capital. The percentages of equity stakes that Tsumura and the Chinese firms will put up have yet to be determined.

A planned 40,000 square-meter pharmaceutical plant will start manufacturing in fiscal 2004.

The three will arrange for the venture to produce powdered extracts of Chinese herbal remedies for shipment to Japan, while seeking to develop medicines for sale on the Chinese market, it added.

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Twinlab: Sells Two Divisions


HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., April 18, Business Wire -- Twinlab Corporation announced today that it has sold the assets of two of its operating divisions, Changes International Inc. (Changes) and PR*Nutrition Inc. (PR), to Goldshield Group plc, a United Kingdom corporation that sells healthcare and pharmaceutical products internationally. The total purchase price was $5 million in cash.

Ross Blechman, Twinlab’s Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, stated: "The sale of these Twinlab businesses is integral to our effort to refocus and prioritize our Company on our core competencies -- the development and sale of quality and innovative nutritional products. We believe that Goldshield has the capability to manage the growth of Changes and PR and serve the distributors and customers of these businesses."

Twinlab Corporation, headquartered in Hauppauge, N.Y., is a leading manufacturer and marketer of high quality, science-based, nutritional supplements, including a complete line of vitamins and minerals, nutraceuticals, herbs and sports nutrition products.

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Twinlab: 2000 Sales Down 11%; New $60 Million Credit Facility


HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., April 2, Business Wire -- Twinlab Corporation today filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K and announced that it has entered into a new financing agreement with CIT Group/Business Credit Inc.

The new credit facility provides a $60 million revolving line of credit for the Company’s borrowing needs, an increase of $10 million from its prior facility. The facility is supported by a $15 million guaranty provided by senior management. CIT Group/ Business Credit Inc. is one of America’s leading providers of asset-based financing to middle market companies.

Ross Blechman, Twinlab’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer stated, "Fiscal 2000 was very difficult for Twinlab as it was for many others in our industry. We have undertaken an aggressive review of the Company’s infrastructure and taken strong actions and initiatives designed to improve the firm’s structure, processes and systems. All of our actions have been directed at streamlining our operations and improving customer satisfaction. We believe the CIT financing, coupled with other actions taken to improve our business, including the previously announced settlement in principle of a securities class action lawsuit against the Company, puts Twinlab in a better position to address the challenges of the new year."

Net sales during the fourth quarter of 2000 were $65.4 million, down 25.7 percent from the $88.0 million reported in the fourth quarter of 1999. The Company experienced a net loss of $ (42.4) million, or $(1.48) per share, for the fourth quarter of 2000 compared to a net loss of $(11.5) million, or $(0.38) per share, for the fourth quarter of 1999.

Net sales for the twelve months ended December 31, 2000 were $280.4 million, a decrease of $35.2 million, or 11.2%, as compared to net sales of $315.6 million for fiscal 1999. The decrease in overall sales reflects negative industry trends experienced in each of the Company’s key distribution channels.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2000, there was a net loss of $(51.9) million, or $(1.81) per share, as compared to a net loss of $(5.2) million, or $ (0.16) per share, last year. Included in this loss are: a $26 million non-cash charge relating to an adjustment to the Company’s deferred tax assets; $16 million related to charges taken in the third quarter relating to herbal inventories at the Company’s Utah facility; and $2.3 million relating to a bad debt charge as the result of the bankruptcy of one of the Company’s distributors.

Twinlab Corporation, headquartered in Hauppauge, N.Y., is a leading manufacturer and marketer of high quality, science-based, nutritional supplements, including a complete line of vitamins, minerals, nutraceuticals, herbs and sports nutrition products.


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