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 Denver, Colorado. Date: Monday, June 30, 2025 Presentation Type: Poster | 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM Session: Poster Session 2 Poster Number: P224 Title: Leveraging New Approach Methodologies to Screen the Developmental…
Microphysiological Systems World Summit
9 – 13 June 2025 The Botanical Safety Consortium will be presenting a poster at the Microphysiological Systems World Summit. Date: Thursday, June 12, 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM Poster Session: MPS for Industrial and Regulatory Testing Title: From Neat Compounds to Complex Mixtures: In Vitro Functional Cardiotoxicity Testing of Botanical Extracts Presenter: Matthias Gossmann, innoVitro Go to Meeting…
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 Pharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.taap.2025.117385 The Botanical Safety Consortium has a new publication that demonstrates how computational modeling can streamline safety evaluations of botanical products. Using the Extended Clearance Classification System (ECCS), the…
EuroTox 2025
14 – 17 September 2025 The Botanical Safety Consortium will be contributing to the EuroTox 2025 program, which will take place in Athens, Greece, from 14-17 September 2025. Session Title: “Botanical Safety: Toxicological Methods for Evaluating Complex Mixtures” Date/Time: Monday, 15 September 2025, 10:00-12:00 Chairs: Olaf Kelber (Bayer) and Connie Mitchell (HESI) Speakers: Catherine Mahony (P&G) Matthias Gossmann…
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 Hepatotoxicity Working Group has developed a screening strategy to identify hepatotoxicity and drug interaction risks associated with botanicals. Botanical products are complex mixtures that are difficult to test in traditional…
New publication: Botanical-induced toxicity: Liver injury and botanical-drug interactions. A report on a Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting symposium
Koturbash et al., 2024. Botanical-induced toxicity: Liver injury and botanical-drug interactions. A report on a Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting symposium. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yrtph.2024.105708 This article addresses the growing public health concerns surrounding the use of botanical supplements and herbal products, focusing on their potential to cause liver toxicity and dangerous drug interactions. As the…
New publication: Chemical Standardization of Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum L.) Extract Using UHPLC-MS/MS and the Method of Standard Addition
A new paper from the HESI Botanical Safety Consortium describes the development and validation of a novel method for quantifying the constituents in milk thistle extracts to ensure consistency and reliability in efficacy and toxicity research. Milk thistle has been used for its purported hepatoprotective properties and other reported health benefits. Given that it is a complex…
New publication: Screening tools to evaluate the neurotoxic potential of botanicals: building a strategy to assess safety
A recent article from the Botanical Safety Consortium (BSC) Neurotoxicity Working Group aims to evaluate existing NAMs for neurotoxicity screening of botanicals as complex mixtures. The article provides background on three assays or models for neuroactivity screening (C. elegans, zebrafish embryos, and multi-electrode arrays) and well-studied botanicals used as case studies for neurotoxicity, including aconite and oleander. Article…
New publication: Prediction of physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties of botanical constituents by computational models
A newly published study from the Botanical Safety Consortium, selected for the cover of Journal of Applied Toxicology, used computational models to predict the physiochemical and pharmacokinetic properties of botanical constituents. This study investigated 103 major compounds from 13 botanicals (e.g., ashwagandha, kratom, and yohimbe), providing insights into their absorption, bioavailability, and safety profiles. The in-silico…
New publication: Within-laboratory reproducibility of Ames test results: Are repeat tests necessary?
A cross-sector group of experts from the Health and Environmental Sciences Institutes (HESI)’s Botanical Safety Consortium (BSC) and Genetic Toxicology Technical Committee (GTTC) analyzed data from the National Toxicology Program (NTP) Ames test database to evaluate the need for repeat testing when assessing the mutagenic and carcinogenic potential of chemical compounds. Key Findings: High reproducibility for initial positive and…
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).
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Our current charge is to evaluate the suitability of assays for botanicals as complex mixtures.
Latest News
BSC 2023 Annual Meeting
28 September 2023 Botanical Safety Consortium 2023 Annual Meeting held virtually on Thursday, September 28, 2023 from 9:00 – 3:30 (US Eastern). The meeting is free an open…
SPS 2023 Annual Meeting
18 – 21 September 2023 HESI Botanical Safety Consortium Cardiotoxicty Technical Working Group poster at the 2023 Safety Pharmacology Society Annual Meeting in Brussels, Belgium. P132: From…
ETS 2023 Annual Meeting
17 – 20 September 2023 HESI Botanical Safety Consortium DART Technical Working Group poster at the 51st Annual Meeting of the European Teratology Society in Madrid, Spain. Go…
EMGS 2023 Annual Meeting
9 – 13 September 2023 HESI Botanical Safety Consortium Genotoxicity Technical Working Group poster presentation entitled “A Strategy for Developing a Robust Framework of Genotoxicity Assays for Safety…
ASP2023 – Current Topics in Botanical Safety Workshop
22 July 2023, 1:30 – 4:30pm HESI Botanical Safety Consortium workshop on Saturday, 22 July from 1:30 – 4:30pm at the 2023 American Society of Pharmacognosy Annual Meeting…
71st International Congress and Annual Meeting of the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research (GA)
July 5, 2023 BSC sponsored session on “Current Topics in Botanical Safety” at the 71st International Congress and Annual Meeting of the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural…
ICSB 2023
25 April 2023 HESI Botanical Safety Consortium session at the 21st International Conference on the Science of Botanicals (ICSB). ICSB Session 7a: Botanical Safety Assessment: Updates From The BSC…
Society of Toxicology 2023 Meeting
19-23 March 2023 HESI Botanical Safety Consortium at SOT2023 in person in Nashville. Symposium: New Approach Methodologies to Evaluate Botanical Safety, Monday 20 March, 1:45 pm – 4:30…
Toxicology Forum 2023 Winter Meeting
23 January 2023 HESI Botanical Safety Consortium event titled “Advancement of Botanical Safety Using New Approach Methodologies” at the Toxicology Forum 2023 Winter Meeting on January 23, 2023…
BSC Webinar: An In-Silico Method To Predict Cardiotoxicity In Botanical Substances
29 November 2022 The HESI Botanical Safety Consortium will host a webinar on Tuesday November 29 at 11 am ET from Dr. Jeremy Billson (InoCardia) entitled “An In-Silico…
