Pharmacognosy - Acceptance in The United States

Acceptance in The United States

In the U.S., pharmacognosy has been long lumped together with quack herbalism by both proponents and opponents. Traditional herbalism is regarded as a method of alternative medicine and considered suspect since the Flexner Report of 1910 led to the closing of the eclectic medical schools where botanical medicine was exclusively practiced.

This situation is further complicated by most pharmacognostic studies in the latter part of the 20th century having been published in languages other than English, such as German, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Persian. Some of the important botanicals have been incorporated into the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determinations of drug safety. In 1994, the US Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), regulating labeling and sales of herbs and other supplements. Most of the 2000 U.S. companies making herbal or natural products choose to market their products as food supplements that do not require substantial testing and give no assurance of safety and effectivity.

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