A public-private partnership to improve botanical safety

BOTANICAL SAFETY CONSORTIUM

The Botanical Safety Consortium (BSC) was officially convened in November 2019, as the result of a Memorandum of Understanding between the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and the non-profit Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI).

Our current charge is to evaluate the suitability of assays for botanicals as complex mixtures.

The BOTANICAL SAFETY CONSORTIUM will provide a sound scientific basis for integrating existing botanical safety & toxicity information with the latest toxicological tools. 

This multi-partite, multi-stakeholder international effort will bring together key scientific experts to enhance the botanical safety toolkit and bring clarity to botanical dietary ingredient assessments.

2025 Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention Annual Meeting

28 June – 2 July 2025 The Botanical Safety Consortium will be presenting a poster at the 2025 Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention Annual Meeting in…

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New publication: Integration of computational models to predict botanical phytochemical constituent clearance routes by the extended clearance classification system (ECCS)

Integration of computational models to predict botanical phytochemical constituent clearance routes by the extended clearance classification system (ECCS) Liu et al., 2025. Toxicology and Applied…

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New publication: Developing a Screening Strategy to Identify Hepatotoxicity and Drug Interaction Potential of Botanicals

Developing a Screening Strategy to Identify Hepatotoxicity and Drug Interaction Potential of Botanicals. Roe et al., 2024. Journal of Dietary Supplements. https://doi.org/10.1080/19390211.2024.2417679   The HESI Botanical Safety Consortium‘s…

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Engage with a broad group of global stakeholders to leverage the best scientific approaches

Establish the appropriate levels of chemical characterization for complex botanical substances

Identify pragmatic, fit-for-purpose, in vitro & in silico assays to evaluate botanical safety

Evaluate the application of these tools via comparison to the currently available safety information

Integrate these tools and approaches into a framework that can facilitate robust evaluation of botanical substances

HESI is a non-profit, 501c3 charitable organization that convenes leading scientists from the public and private sector to identify emerging health challenges and solutions, translates science from research to application, and enhances the protection of human and the environment health worldwide.

For more information, please contact: botanicalsafety@hesiglobal.org.