Frontiers in Pharmacology (Aug 2024)

A U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) overview of Pan American botanicals used in dietary supplements and herbal medicines

  • Roy Upton,
  • Ignacio Agudelo,
  • Yadira Cabrera,
  • Armando Caceres,
  • Angela Calderón,
  • Fernando Calzada,
  • Rosa Camacho,
  • Fernando da Costa,
  • Cecilia Dobrecky,
  • Roberto Enciso,
  • Marcela Escobar,
  • Mina Fakhary,
  • Edward Fletcher,
  • Quanyin Gao,
  • Olga Lock,
  • Rachel Mata,
  • Mirtha Parada,
  • Wilmer Perera,
  • Luis Miguel Pombo,
  • Eike Reich,
  • Eric Sanchez,
  • Mario Juan Simirgiotis,
  • Christian Sood,
  • Virginie Treyvaud Amiguet,
  • Martha Villar,
  • Ricardo Ghelman,
  • Mariana Cabral Schveitzer,
  • Caio Fábio Schlechta Portella,
  • Adriana Wolffenbüttel,
  • Bettina Ruppelt,
  • Fabiana Souza Frickmann,
  • Janette Gavillan-Suarez,
  • Kristin Allen,
  • Luis Diego Alvarado,
  • Nandakumara Sarma,
  • Robin Marles,
  • Maria Monagas,
  • Mirtha Navarro-Hoyos,
  • Mirtha Navarro-Hoyos

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2024.1426210
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15

Abstract

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The United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is a nonprofit, scientific, standard-setting organization, and world leader in establishing quality, purity, and testing standards for medicines, foods, and dietary supplements. USP quality standards are used in more than 140 countries and are legally recognized by more than 40 countries. Currently, there is renewed interest in herbal medicines globally, and health policies are being implemented worldwide for the use of complementary and traditional medicine. In response, USP has developed a robust body of monographs that can be used to guide industry and regulators in ensuring the quality and safety of botanical ingredients used in dietary supplements and herbal medicines. Throughout the Pan American regions, there is a strong tradition of using botanicals as herbal medicines and, as in other regions, a growing desire for botanical dietary supplements. This underscores the need for public quality standards to ensure quality, reduce the flow of substandard and adulterated products, and ensure public health and safety. In April 2022, USP launched the Pan America Botanical Dietary Supplements and Herbal Medicines Expert Panel, with experts representing 12 different countries. The Expert Panel’s work focuses on developing quality control standards for the most important botanical ingredients used in the respective countries, ingredients that are also of global importance. This article provides an overview of the state of botanical dietary supplements and herbal medicines in different Pan American regions with a focus on the regulatory status of herbal products, the development of national quality and research initiatives, and policies related to agriculture conservation and sustainability, among other topics.

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