AUTHOR=Upton Roy , Agudelo Ignacio , Cabrera Yadira , Caceres Armando , Calderón Angela , Calzada Fernando , Camacho Rosa , da Costa Fernando , Dobrecky Cecilia , Enciso Roberto , Escobar Marcela , Fakhary Mina , Fletcher Edward , Gao Quanyin , Lock Olga , Mata Rachel , Parada Mirtha , Perera Wilmer , Pombo Luis Miguel , Reich Eike , Sanchez Eric , Simirgiotis Mario Juan , Sood Christian , Amiguet Virginie Treyvaud , Villar Martha , Ghelman Ricardo , Schveitzer Mariana Cabral , Portella Caio Fábio Schlechta , Wolffenbüttel Adriana , Ruppelt Bettina , Frickmann Fabiana Souza , Gavillan-Suarez Janette , Allen Kristin , Alvarado Luis Diego , Sarma Nandakumara , Marles Robin , Monagas Maria , Navarro-Hoyos Mirtha TITLE=A U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) overview of Pan American botanicals used in dietary supplements and herbal medicines JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology VOLUME=15 YEAR=2024 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2024.1426210 DOI=10.3389/fphar.2024.1426210 ISSN=1663-9812 ABSTRACT=

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.