Are herbs containing arbutin actually harmful?

Photo of Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Bearberry)

In May 2018 we suddenly found out that herbs containing the natural constituent arbutin, including Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Bearberry) and Turnera diffusa (Damiana) had been restricted to prescription only Schedule 4 medicines by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). However the reasoning for such restriction was questionable, and so myself and Laura Dwyer – my research student – set out to determine if there was actually evidence that these herbs might be harmful. We just published the results of our review.

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Herbs, Glass Bottles & Poisons – April NHAA Sydney Chapter

Old medicine bottles in the Childers Pharmaceutical Museum

April is the first NHAA Sydney Chapter Meeting for the year, and they have asked me to speak again. But this time it will be a bit different – a pictorial conversation of herbal history, entitled “Herbs, Glass Bottles & Poisons in Childers – A Snapshot of Late 19th and Early 20th Century Herbal Medicine”.

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Adaptogens & Nervines – my presentation at June NHAA Sydney Chapter

In April I was down in Melbourne for the 8th International Conference on Herbal Medicine. Whilst I was there, VIC Herbs (the Victorian State Chapter of the NHAA) invited me to do a talk to their membership. The topic was “Adaptogens & Nervines – Perfect Pairs”. Well due to popular request I will be delivering that same presentation to the Sydney Chapter in June.

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