Jiaherb Adopts Kava through ABC’s Adopt-an-Herb Program

Dear Valued ABC Member and Friend,

The nonprofit American Botanical Council (ABC) welcomes the adoption of kava (Piper methysticum) by Jiaherb through ABC’s Adopt-an-Herb botanical research and education program.

Kava, also known as kava kava, is a member of the pepper family (Piperaceae) and is native to the South Pacific Islands of Vanuatu, Fiji, and surrounding islands. Kava rhizomes (lateral underground stems that shoot off the roots) have been used for millennia to prepare a beverage for ceremonial and medicinal purposes. Traditionally, the rhizomes are pounded or ground and steeped in water to create a relaxing brew, also called kava, which is used to promote sleep and reduce stress. Kavalactones are the primary active ingredients in kava’s antianxiety and neuroprotective activities. In human clinical trials, kava extracts have been correlated with improvements in mood and generalized anxiety disorders.

According to Jiaherb President Scott Chen: “Jiaherb’s mission is to continuously research, develop, and source innovative ingredients that benefit people’s health. At Jiaherb, we always focus on developing natural ingredients which have been clinically demonstrated to help people improve their heath. Not only is kava one such ingredient, but our new super-critical extraction process will bring the kava extract to a new standard.” Mr. Chen stated that Jiaherb accesses only the “noble” kava variety sourced from the island of Vanuatu, which botanists have determined is the original botanical source of kava.

Jiaherb’s adoption of kava supports ABC’s extensive HerbMedPro database, ensuring that this unique, robust research and educational resource remains up to date for researchers, health professionals, industry members, students, consumers, and other members of the herbal and dietary supplement and natural medicine communities. The company has also adopted rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea) through the program.

HerbMedPro is a comprehensive, interactive online database that provides access to important scientific and clinical research data on the uses and health effects of more than 265 herbs, spices, medicinal plants, and fungi.

“ABC is deeply grateful to Jiaherb for adopting kava on ABC’s HerbMedPro database,” said ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal. “Kava has a long history of traditional use and is highly revered by South Pacific Islanders, who use it both ceremonially and medicinally. Jiaherb’s kava adoption enables ABC to further its unique nonprofit research and educational mission by ensuring that HerbMedPro contains the latest scientific and clinical research on this respected traditional herb.”

About Jiaherb

Founded in Xi’an, China, in 2000, Jiaherb is an NSF-GMP certified natural ingredients manufacturer. According to the company’s website, it offers 100% traceability of its ingredients and upholds ethical values toward sustainability. To this end, it launched the Herbalink™ botanical identification program, which, according to Jiaherb, implements stringent testing methods throughout processing and preparation and documentation of the ingredient’s journey from harvest to packaging.

Chris Oesterheld, Jiaherb vice president, said: “The core of our sustainability strategy creates value through social, economic, and environmental means, and with kava, we are exercising these exact strategies.” Oesterheld continued, “We are proud of being associated with such a reputable and respected organization as the American Botanical Council. This partnership directly reflects our core values of making a positive impact in our industry. Through this adoption we take pride in providing information that helps our industry recognize the human health benefits of kava. We are committed to and focused on continuing our research and sustainability efforts for this amazingly impactful ingredient that kava is.”

About Adopt-an-Herb and HerbMedPro

Jiaherb is one of 74 US and international companies and organizations that have supported ABC’s educational efforts to collect, organize, and disseminate reliable traditional and science-based information, including clinical studies, on herbs, medicinal plants, and other botanical- and fungal-based ingredients through the Adopt-an-Herb program. This program encourages companies, organizations, and individuals to “adopt” one or more specific herbs for inclusion and ongoing maintenance in the HerbMedPro database. To date, 85 herbs have been adopted.

Each adopted herb is researched continuously for new scientific articles in the areas of botanical, chemical, pharmacological, toxicological, and clinical studies, ensuring that its HerbMedPro record stays current and robust. Access to the studies is organized conveniently by publication type, with each study condensed to a one-sentence summary with a link to the study’s official abstract on PubMed (the US National Library of Medicine’s free-access database) or other publicly accessible databases.

HerbMedPro is available to ABC members at the Academic level and higher. Its “sister” site, HerbMed, is available to the public at no cost, with access to 25-30 records of herbs that are popular in the United States market from the larger HerbMedPro database, along with all the adopted herbs. In keeping with ABC’s position as an independent nonprofit research and education organization, herb adopters do not influence the scientific information that is compiled for their respective adopted herbs.

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