Natac Adopts Olive through the American Botanical Council's Adopt-an-Herb Program

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Botanical Council (ABC) announces that Natac, a natural products and biotechnology company headquartered in Spain, officially has adopted olive (Olea europaea) through ABC's Adopt-an-Herb Program. Natac's three-year commitment will help ABC keep its HerbMedPro database up-to-date with the latest scientific and clinical research on olive. HerbMedPro is an interactive and comprehensive database, available at ABC's website, that provides access to important scientific and clinical research data underlying the use of herbs for health.

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"ABC is deeply grateful to Natac for their adoption of olive," said ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal. "Their participation in this program will ensure that information on olive preparations in the HerbMedPro database will stay current, all while supporting ABC's nonprofit educational mission. It seems that almost every week or month there are new studies coming out on the health benefits of consumption of olive oil or olive extracts, making this an especially timely adoption."

Natac joins 15 other herb and plant-based ingredient companies that have come forward to support ABC's ongoing efforts through the Adopt-an-Herb Program to collect, organize, and disseminate reliable, traditional, and science-based information on herbs, medicinal plants, and other botanical-based ingredients. Adopt-an-Herb encourages companies and individuals to "adopt" one or more specific herbs for inclusion and ongoing maintenance in the HerbMedPro database. Each adopted herb is continuously researched for new articles and studies, ensuring that its HerbMedPro record stays current and robust. The result is an unparalleled resource for consumers, researchers, healthcare practitioners, educators, media, government agencies, members of industry, and others, available via ABC's information-rich website.

HerbMedPro is an interactive, impartial, and evidence-based database that provides online access to abstracts of scientific and clinical publications on more than 250 commonly used medicinal herbs. Herb records in the database vary in size from those with a very large amount of published data — such as Ginkgo biloba, with more than 1,000 summarized entries and links — to Acacia catechu (cutch tree or black catechu in the pea family), with fewer than 50. Each abstract is also summarized in only one sentence, thereby saving a significant amount of time for the user.

HerbMedPro is available to ABC members at the Academic level and higher; its "sister" site HerbMed, however, is free and available to the general public. HerbMed features 20 to 30 herbs from HerbMedPro that are rotated on a regular basis. Making this unique resource free to the public increases the number of people benefiting from updated information on herbs, in accordance with ABC's nonprofit educational mission.

About Olive 
The olive tree (Olea europaea in the plant family Oleaceae) is an evergreen native to the Mediterranean region, and has been cultivated since 3500 BCE. Some trees live for more than 500 years. Its leaves and branches have been a symbol of peace for thousands of years. Historically, olive oil has been used medicinally for intestinal gas, lubrication of the intestines, and as a mild laxative. Externally, it has been applied to soothe minor burns and dry skin and to treat stretch marks. Olive oil is one of the most representative components of the Mediterranean diet; the olive tree offers a wide range of healthy ingredients and components, including the natural chemicals oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol, and triterpenic acids (such as oleanolic, maslinic, and ursolic acids), which have one or more of the following properties: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, and antihypertensive (blood pressure-lowering) properties, as well as hypoglycemic (blood sugar-lowering) effects. Additionally, these olive-containing constituents help to improve the function of the inner lining of arteries (endothelial function).

About Natac
Natac is a biotechnology company dedicated to the research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of value-added healthy natural ingredients for their application in functional foods and dietary supplements, as well as active pharmaceutical ingredients of natural origin, mainly plant extracts and functional lipids. Natac has recently opened a division exclusively devoted to healthy ingredients obtained from the olive tree: Innovaoleo by Natac, a joint-venture with the world leader in olive production. In addition to extracts highly concentrated in oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol, and triterpenic acids, Natac has developed a wide variety of new and innovative ingredients derived from the olive tree with applications in human health as well as in cosmetics and animal nutrition. Headquartered in Spain, Natac is currently expanding internationally with the opening of sales offices around the world, while maintaining the strategic location of its production unit in Spain. Website: www.natac.es.

About ABC
Founded in 1988, the American Botanical Council is a leading international nonprofit organization addressing research and educational issues regarding herbs, teas, medicinal plants, essential oils, and other beneficial plant-derived materials. ABC's members include academic researchers and educators; libraries; health professionals and medical institutions; government agencies; members of the herb, dietary supplement, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries; journalists; consumers; and others in over 81 countries. The organization occupies a historic 2.5-acre site in Austin, Texas, where it publishes the peer-reviewed quarterly journal HerbalGram, the monthly e-publication HerbalEGram, the weekly e-newsletter "Herbal News & Events," HerbClips (summaries of scientific and clinical publications), reference books, and other educational materials. ABC also hosts HerbMedPro, a powerful herbal database, covering scientific and clinical publications on more than 250 herbs. ABC also co-produces the "Herbal Insights" segment for Healing Quest, a television series on PBS.

ABC is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code. Information: Contact ABC at P.O. Box 144345, Austin, TX 78714-4345, Phone: 512-926-4900. Website: www.herbalgram.org. Contact: Public Relations.

SOURCE American Botanical Council