AUSTIN, Texas, May 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Botanical Council (ABC) will present its 16th Annual Celebration and Botanical Excellence Awards with a one-hour, online program that will livestream on ABC’s Facebook page and YouTube channel on Tuesday, May 25, at 5pm EDT.
The educational and entertaining Celebration is open to consumers and those in industry, academia, research, media, and government—anyone who does business in or simply loves botanicals and herbal medicine—and is free to attend. For more information and to RSVP, visit the ABC website.
This year’s event, held online for the first time, celebrates the accomplishments of the 33-year-old, non-profit research and education organization and honors the recipients of six awards for their accomplishments in 2020. This year’s Celebration is envisioned as the herbal community’s premiere awards ceremony and is expected to be one of the year’s biggest gatherings of researchers, academics, natural healthcare professionals, herb industry members—anyone with an interest in and love of Nature’s greatest gifts to support health and wellness.
ABC’s Botanical Excellence Awards were first given in 2006. Recipients are chosen based on their contributions to the herbal and botanical community during the previous year.
“ABC has always been a science organization, and most of our awards reflect ABC’s scientific research orientation,” said ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal. “Despite the fact that we can chose only a few people for our awards each year, ABC’s awards process intends to honor all those engaged in scientific and clinical research on herbs, medicinal plants, phytomedicines, essential oils, medicinal fungi, and related natural ingredients with therapeutic benefits.”
According to Stefan Gafner, PhD, ABC Chief Science Officer, “It is an encouraging sign that our list of award contenders grows longer every year, which means that an increasing number of people and organizations are making substantial contributions of time, energy, and resources to further our knowledge of the efficacy and safety of medicinal plants. I look forward to honoring this year’s awardees at the Celebration.”
The ABC Botanical Excellence Awards are presented to individuals and organizations to recognize the following achievements:
- ABC James A. Duke Excellence in Botanical Literature Award: books that contribute significantly to the medicinal plant-related literature, and the fields of botany, taxonomy, ethnobotany, pharmacognosy, phytomedicine, mycology, and other related disciplines;
- ABC Norman R. Farnsworth Excellence in Botanical Research Award: significant research contributions in the fields of pharmacognosy, ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, or other scientific disciplines related to medicinal plants;
- ABC Varro E. Tyler Commercial Investment in Phytomedicinal Research Award: awarded to a botanical ingredient, dietary supplement, and/or phytomedicinal products company that makes a strong investment in human clinical research to support the authenticity, safety, and efficacy of its ingredients or products;
- ABC Fredi Kronenberg Excellence in Research and Education in Botanicals for Women’s Health Award: presented to a researcher, educator, and/or clinician who furthers the scientific study and clinical use of medicinal plants and phytomedicines for women’s health conditions;
- ABC Champion Award: individuals who have been outstanding supporters of ABC and have helped the organization promote and achieve its nonprofit research and educational mission, whether through monetary support or contributions of their own time; and
- ABC Mark Blumenthal Herbal Community Builder Award: individuals who have played a significant role in creating a sense of community among herbalists, botanical researchers, members of the herb and natural products communities and industries, and others who work in the various areas of medicinal and aromatic plants.
For the past 15 years, the awards were presented at a gathering of the natural products industry at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, CA but due to the pandemic, the Expo was moved to a virtual platform May 24-27. By moving the celebration and awards online this year, ABC is able to share the acknowledgements and festivities with thousands of its members and registered users of the ABC website, as well as medicinal plant advocates around the world.
The 2021 ABC Celebration and Botanical Excellence Awards is made possible by the generous support of the following Celebration sponsors: Alkemist Labs, Amin Talati Wasserman, ChromaDex, Euromed, EuroPharma, Horphag Research, Indena, MegaFood, New Chapter, Informa, NOW Health Group, RT Specialty, United Natural Products Alliance, and Verdure Sciences.
About the American Botanical Council