Vitatech Adopts Cinnamon through the American Botanical Council's Adopt-an-Herb Program

Cinnamon becoming increasingly popular for its clinically documented blood sugar-normalizing effects

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Botanical Council (ABC) is pleased to announce that Vitatech^® Nutritional Sciences, a California-based vitamin and supplement formulation company, has adopted cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) through ABC's Adopt-an-Herb Program. Vitatech's three-year commitment helps ABC keep its HerbMedPro database up-to-date with the latest scientific and clinical research on cinnamon. HerbMedPro is an interactive and comprehensive database available on ABC's website that provides access to important scientific and clinical research data underlying the use of nearly 250 herbs and their effects on human health.

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"The generosity of Vitatech Nutritional Sciences is vital to supporting our unique nonprofit educational mission," said ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal. "As cinnamon's health benefits are increasingly recognized, particularly in the area of blood sugar control in Type 2 diabetes, ABC is able to ensure that the scientific information on cinnamon in the HerbMedPro database is as current and accurate as possible. Vitatech's adoption of cinnamon on ABC's HerbMedPro database helps ABC do this, and we are deeply grateful for their support. ABC looks forward to working with Tom Tierney and the Vitatech team in the coming years to ensure that ABC continues to maintain its position as a source of reliable information for consumers, scientists, healthcare professionals, government agencies, and many others."

Vitatech joins 18 additional herb and plant-based ingredient companies that support ABC's ongoing efforts through the Adopt-an-Herb Program to collect, organize, and disseminate reliable, traditional, science-based, and clinical information on herbs, medicinal plants, and other botanical- and fungal-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, not only for researchers, health professionals, industry, and consumers, but for all members of the herbal and dietary supplements community, and others, available via ABC's information-rich website. In keeping with ABC's position as an independent nonprofit organization, herb adopters do not have influence on the scientific information that is compiled for their respective adopted herbs.

HerbMedPro provides online access to abstracts of scientific and clinical publications on nearly 250 commonly used medicinal herbs. Herb records in the database vary in size from those with a 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 also is 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 Cinnamon

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) is a small evergreen tree native to tropical southern India and Sri Lanka, growing in habitats at sea level to 900 meters. It was later introduced throughout the islands of the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia and is now cultivated extensively in Sri Lanka and the coastal regions of India. Commercially, cinnamon is used for flavoring in many foods, beverages, spice blends, and chewing gums. Its antimicrobial and antioxidant effects also can lengthen the shelf life of prepared foods. It has been used in both Eastern and Western medicine for centuries to treat a wide variety of conditions, including anorexia, nausea, cholera, fever, rheumatism, toothaches, ulcers, and more. Current research supports the potential use of cinnamon to relieve gastrointestinal complaints, reduce inflammation, lower blood glucose levels, and reduce insulin resistance, among other applications.

About Vitatech Nutritional Sciences

Vitatech Nutritional Sciences, Inc. is a senior US-based manufacturer and innovator of dietary supplements and nutritional products, serving the natural products industry since 1954. The company differentiates itself by its emphasis on consumer education and positive lifestyles as solutions to health issues, teamed with professional medical guidance. Vitatech's mission is "to improve human lives."  More information is available at www.vitatech.com.

About the American Botanical Council

Founded in 1988, the American Botanical Council is a leading international nonprofit organization that addresses 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