AHPA’s Herbs of Commerce, 3rd ed., receives 2024 ABC James A. Duke Excellence in Botanical Literature Award

• By: AHPA
• On: 04/04/2024 07:08:00
• In: AHPA News

The annual award recognizes books that contribute significantly to medicinal plant-related literature

April 4, 2024

The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) is pleased to announce that AHPA's Herbs of Commerce, 3rd ed., has received the 2024 American Botanical Council (ABC) James A. Duke Excellence in Botanical Literature Award in the reference/technical category.

ABC gives the Duke Award annually to books that contribute significantly to medicinal plant-related literature and the fields of botany, taxonomy, ethnobotany, pharmacognosy, phytomedicine, and other related disciplines. The award was created in 2006 to honor economic botanist, ethnobotanist, and author James A. Duke, Ph.D. (1929–2017).
 
Herbs of Commerce provides guidance on consistent naming of botanical ingredients on product labels, especially those marketed in the United States as dietary supplements. The third edition contains entries for over 2,800 separate plant species, over 1,000 botanical synonyms, over 300 Ayurvedic names, and over 700 pinyin names.
 
AHPA published the first edition of Herbs of Commerce in 1992 as self-governing guidance to reduce confusion associated with labeling botanical ingredients and established a single “standardized” common name for each listed herb. In 2000, AHPA published the second edition of Herbs of Commerce with the aim to expand and update each subsequent edition to reflect herbs presently on the market and contemporary botanical nomenclature, a practice that continued with the publication of the third and latest edition in 2023.
 
The first edition of Herbs of Commerce took the force of federal law when it was incorporated by reference in 1997 as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initiated rulemaking to implement the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994. In November 2023, AHPA submitted a Citizen Petition amendment requesting that FDA amend the federal regulation referencing the first edition of Herbs of Commerce to reflect the updated, third edition.
 
“It is an honor and privilege for Herbs of Commerce, 3rd ed., to be recognized with the James A. Duke Excellence in Botanical Literature Award,” said AHPA President Michael McGuffin, who served as an editor for the second and third editions. “It reflects the dedication and expertise of the editorial team, Expert Advisory Council, sponsors, and all those who contributed to this collaborative effort to provide a valuable industry resource. We extend our gratitude to ABC for this recognition and thank our members and the wider herbal and dietary supplement communities for their support.”

Herbs of Commerce, 3rd ed., is available now.