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.

New publication: Advancing botanical safety

Advancing botanical safety: A strategy for selecting, sourcing, and characterizing botanicals for developing toxicological tools. Waidyanatha et al., February 2024. Food and Chemical Toxicology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2024.114537 Increases…

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New publication in Food and Chemical Toxicology

Neuroactivity screening of botanical extracts using microelectrode array (MEA) recordings Regina G.D.M. van Kleef, Michelle R. Embry, Constance A. Mitchell, Remco H.S. Westerink. Food and…

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New publication in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology

Improving the rigor and utility of botanical toxicity studies: Recommended resources Deval Patel, Barbara C. Sorkin, Constance A. Mitchell, Michelle R. Embry, Sharline Rina-Kong, Rebecca…

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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.