International Botanicals Meeting Welcomes New Partners

The National Center for Natural Products Research hosts the annual event, this year in cooperation with the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Cara Welch, director of the FDA’s Office of Dietary Supplement Programs in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, served as the event’s keynote speaker. Welch presented a retrospection on 30 years of science-based regulation for dietary supplements.

“The conference is unique in that it brings regulators, industry, government and academia together on one platform to meet and discuss current regulatory aspects,” said Ikhlas Khan, NCNPR director. “It helps attendees keep up with the latest science and regulations by bringing in the top researchers in their fields to present and key regulators to discuss current regulations.”

Stephen Duke, NCNPR principal scientist, delivered the 2024 McChesney Lecture, “Natural Products in Food and Agriculture.” The lecture, first held during the 2022 conference, is named for former UM professor James D. McChesney, who was instrumental in the founding of NCNPR.

For the first time, the conference was held as a joint meeting with the 7th World Congress of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. As a result, sessions on Afro-Caribbean medicinal plants and ensuring authenticity and quality of mushrooms were added to the event’s slate.

The 2024 conference also saw a rise in attendance, surpassing 330 attendees in comparison to 250 in 2023. 

“We are excited about the resounding success of this year’s ICSB,” said Donna Strum, dean of the School of Pharmacy. “This conference not only highlights our commitment to excellence in the science of botanicals but also fosters an invaluable environment for innovation and collaboration among attendees. 

“We look forward to the continued growth and impact of this conference in the years to come.”

Plans are already underway for the 23rd annual conference, set for April 7-10, 2025. For more information about ICSB, visit https://oxfordicsb.org.