In Person: UCL School of Pharmacy, JHLT Lecture Theatre, 29-39 Brunswick Square, London, WC1N 1AXnline
Registration opens on the 3rd of May, both for in-person and online participation.
1330- 1400 Arrival and Registrations
1400 – 1430
- Dr Shelini Surendran (University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom): “Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus): Is it worth the hype?”
- Dr Anthony Booker and Dr Proma Khondkar (Westminster University, London, United Kingdom): “A wolf in sheep’s clothing? The hidden risks of aflatoxins in food supplements”
1430 – 1445 Short Break
1445 – 1530
- Peter Bradley Lecture by Dr Stefan Gafner (American Botanical Council, Austin, TX 78723, USA): “Fight the Fakes – Adulterated Herbal Medicines and Botanical Ingredients: Fifteen Years of the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program”
Initiated in 2011, the Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program (BAPP) was created as a partnership between the American Botanical Council, the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP), and the National Centre for Natural Products Research (NCNPR) at the University of Mississippi to educate the herbal dietary supplement industry, regulators, and scientists in academia about adulteration of botanical ingredients. The ultimate goal of the Program is to improve the authenticity and quality of herbal dietary supplements for the consumer. Since its inception, the Program has published over 100 peer-reviewed documents. Despite herbal ingredient suppliers’ and dietary supplement manufacturers’ implementation of changes to quality control specifications, processes, and supply chains based on BAPP publications, adulteration of botanical ingredients has persisted. While many industry members have implemented robust quality control systems to root out adulteration, published data show that some manufacturers lack even the most basic quality control tests. However, a few case studies from Asian countries also show that a combination of education, testing, and strict regulatory enforcement can successfully reduce the number of adulterated ingredients available on the market. The presentation will provide a review of the accomplishments of BAPP over the past 15 years and the authenticity challenges that remain to be solved (Gafner et al. 2023, Orhan et al 2024, 2025):
- Gafner S, Blumenthal M, Foster S, Cardellina JH 2nd, Khan IA, Upton R. (2023) Botanical Ingredient Forensics: Detection of Attempts to Deceive Commonly Used Analytical Methods for Authenticating Herbal Dietary and Food Ingredients and Supplements. J Nat Prod. 2023 Feb 24;86(2):460-472. doi: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.2c00929.
- Orhan N, Gafner S, Blumenthal M. (2024) Estimating the extent of adulteration of the popular herbs black cohosh, echinacea, elderberry, ginkgo, and turmeric – its challenges and limitations. Nat Prod Rep. 41(10):1604-1621. doi: 10.1039/d4np00014e.
- Orhan N, Gafner S, Blumenthal M. (2025) Ginseng Adulteration Across Global Markets and Evaluation of Commercial Product Authenticity. l Prod. Com 20(12). doi:10.1177/1934578X251405982.
Stefan Gafner, PhD, is currently Chief Science Officer of the American Botanical Council, an independent, nonprofit research and education organisation. He is also Director of the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program, a large-scale collaborative program to educate members of the herbal and dietary supplement industry about ingredient and product adulteration. Prior to working for ABC, Gafner served as a Director of Analytical Chemistry in the R&D department of natural personal care products company Tom’s of Maine.
1530 – 1545 Short Break
1545 – 1700
- Round table: “Truth in the Roots’ or Fighting the Fakes: Overcoming Adulteration and Quality Challenges for Herbal Medical Products” (including questions to the speakers)
Confirmed panellists include Dr Stefan Gafner, Dr Chris Etheridge, Dr Shelini Surendran, Dr Anthony Booker, Vivienne Rolfe and Oksana Pyzik.
1700 – 1800 reception at the Junior Common Room of the School (basement)
Organisers: Prof Michael Heinrich, Dr Banaz Jalil and Fiona Marquet
Chairs: Prof Michael Heinrich and Dr Banaz Jalil
Some background to the programm
This event is co-organised by the team at the UCL School of Pharmacy, the British Herbal Medicine Association, and the focus group ‘Drugs from Natural Sources’ of the Association of Pharmaceutical Sciences (APSGB). The visit of Dr. St. Gafner is part-sponsored by Davines SpA, Parma. The event is part of the MSc in Clinical Pharmacy International Practice and Policy. It is co-badged by the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research (GA).
Peter Bradley (1937–2021) was a dedicated figure in the field of herbal medicine. Peter developed a passion for the science of herbal medicines in the 1980s and joined the BHMA Board. Peter served as Chairman between 2010 and 2013 and never retired from the Board. His most significant legacy was authoring and producing the two volumes of the British Herbal Compendium (1992, 2006), which remains a cornerstone of BHMA’s scientific work. Beyond this, he contributed to every BHMA publication since 1983, personally overseeing their development, marketing and distribution. His dedication ensured that these publications have become essential references in the field and continue to be used worldwide.
A chemist by training, Peter earned a master’s degree in carbohydrate chemistry in Canada before returning to the UK. He worked for major global companies, leading teams to develop over-the-counter herbal medicines and managing commercial health-food manufacturing operations in India and Puerto Rico. His expertise in both scientific research and industry operations made him a key figure in the development and supply of high-quality herbal medicines. Peter was also a leading contributor to the European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy (ESCOP), co-chairing scientific committees and acting as editor-in-chief for over 60 monographs. This meticulous research and writing underpinned many of the accepted claims of efficacy for herbal medicines across Europe. His passion, scientific rigour, and commitment to the highest standards have left an enduring impact on herbal medicine.
