Customer Reviews

American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook

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I feel somewhat presumptious criticising this publication of the American Herbal Products Association as a mere student. However it is not as comprehensive, or as easy to check, as I had hoped. The main body is a dry listing in botanical binomial categorisation only. Part of the chemical reactions of the active constituents have then to be extracted seperately from the text of appendix 2 (which are the herbal constituent profiles). Though it has a simple list of herbs inadvisable during pregnancy - which should be useful. I was also disappointed to see that feverfew merely mentions the potential mouth ulceration capability of fresh leaves (and gastric disturbances) but not that it can possibly cause increase photosensitivity in combination with other drugs.

Personally, within my limited experience of relevant publications, I prefer the Natural Standards Herb & Supplement Handbook by Basch and Ulbricht. Though this includes common supplements such as fish oil. This I have found far more comprehensive, for the herbs it does include, and more user friendly.

I have this book and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to have a key reference to using herbal products safely. It is not the only reference book I consult when looking up the safety of herbal products, but it is one of my main ones. I simply wouldn't think of being without it.

I congratulate the American Herbal Products Association for publishing this book and being on the forefront of wanting consumers to have access to accurate information about the safety of herbs when looking to purchase Herbal Products.

This book is a must for any practitioner of botanical medicine. It is a quick, concise guide to herbal safety. It clearly discusses controversial issues, rather than just randomly trashing herbs based on rumor and innuendo, as so many books in the mainstream medical establishment seem to do. A great work. The appendices at the back discussing important issues in more depth are particularly well done.

The issuing of BSH is a landmark event. The book contains demonstrations of what the botanicals people consume in their health food products really mean while alerting those in the industry to the issues surrounding their use. This book should be recognized formally by the government. The labeling recommendations presented are meaningful, complete and based on the best of science.

If you are a consumer of supplements, or, more importantly, if you are in the business (whether you are a retailer, a broker a a seller of raw materials) this book is a complete reference that must sit on the shelf only occasionally. Otherwise it should be in your hands for consult.