Advancing botanical safety: A strategy for selecting, sourcing, and characterizing botanicals for developing...

Area of Science:

• Pharmacology
• Toxicology
• Botanical Science

Background:

• Increasing use of botanical products like herbal medicines and dietary supplements necessitates improved safety evaluation.
• Botanicals pose unique challenges for safety assessment due to their complex and variable compositions.
• Traditional methods relying solely on historical use lack comprehensive toxicological validation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish advanced safety assessment methodologies for botanicals.
• To form an international expert consortium (Botanical Safety Consortium - BSC) for this purpose.
• To develop and validate fit-for-purpose assays for botanical safety.

Main Methods:

• Developing a standardized strategy for botanical selection, sourcing, and extract preparation for in vitro assays.
• Characterizing botanical extracts using green tea and Asian ginseng as case studies.
• Integrating traditional knowledge with modern in vitro and in silico toxicological assays.

Main Results:

• A clear strategy for preparing botanical extracts for biological assays has been established.
• Characterization methods for botanical extracts were demonstrated using green tea and Asian ginseng.
• The approach builds confidence in using these extracts in biological assays for safety evaluation.

Conclusions:

• The Botanical Safety Consortium (BSC) is advancing botanical safety assessment by merging traditional and modern scientific approaches.
• Standardized methods for botanical extract preparation and characterization are crucial for reliable safety testing.
• The development of innovative toxicity tools is essential to ensure the safety of botanical products.