A U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) overview of Pan American botanicals used in dietary supplements and herbal medicines.

The United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is a nonprofit, scientific, standard-setting organization, and world leader in establishing quality, purity, and testing standards for medicines, foods, and dietary supplements. USP quality standards are used in more than 140 countries and are legally recognized by more than 40 countries. Currently, there is renewed interest in herbal medicines globally, and health policies are being implemented worldwide for the use of complementary and traditional medicine. In response, USP has developed a robust body of monographs that can be used to guide industry and regulators in ensuring the quality and safety of botanical ingredients used in dietary supplements and herbal medicines. Throughout the Pan American regions, there is a strong tradition of using botanicals as herbal medicines and, as in other regions, a growing desire for botanical dietary supplements. This underscores the need for public quality standards to ensure quality, reduce the flow of substandard and adulterated products, and ensure public health and safety. In April 2022, USP launched the Pan America Botanical Dietary Supplements and Herbal Medicines Expert Panel, with experts representing 12 different countries. The Expert Panel's work focuses on developing quality control standards for the most important botanical ingredients used in the respective countries, ingredients that are also of global importance. This article provides an overview of the state of botanical dietary supplements and herbal medicines in different Pan American regions with a focus on the regulatory status of herbal products, the development of national quality and research initiatives, and policies related to agriculture conservation and sustainability, among other topics.

[Penicillin production in Chile between 1944 and 1954]. / Producción de Penicilina en Chile entre 1944 y 1954.

Penicillin production in Chile was a pioneering development; however there is not much information to learn about it. The Chilean Institute for Bacteriology (Instituto Bacteriológico de Chile) produced penicillin between 1944 and 1973. The stage starting in 1953 is better known since there was an agreement with United Nations. Our research focused on building a story about production between 1944 and 1954 based on archival information and the national and international historic context. Our results place Chile amongst the pioneer countries in the successful industrialization of the drug. Our conclusions are that this was a proper industrial production as opposite to a pilot plant - a name commonly used to call the early factory. We explain the production plant trajectory by making relations between technological change and governance. Finally, we believe the later expansion of the plant, in the context of the agreement with the United Nations, took place under unpromising governance conditions, which called for passive innovation and technology management.

Estrous cycle disruptor effect of an ethanolic extract from Buddleja globosa leaves and its main component (verbascoside) / Efecto disruptor del ciclo estral de un extracto etanólico de hojas de Buddleja globosa y de su componente principal (verbascósido)

The estrous cycle disruptor effect of an ethanolic extract (EMATst) from Buddleja globosa leaves and standardized in its main component (verbascoside) was determined in rats after the subcutaneous administration of EMATst. Binding of EMATst and verbascoside to the estrogen receptor (ER) of EMATst and verbacoside was also measuredestablished. EMATst produced a significant alteration inof the estrous cycle only at the highest dose (10-5 M), which could be attributed to an antiestrogenic effect. The Bbinding of EMATst and verbascoside to the ER was competitive and occurred in concentrations 1000 times greater than that of 17beta-estradiol.

El efecto disruptor del ciclo estral de un extracto etanólico (EMATst) obtenido a partir de las hojas de Buddleja globosa y estandarizado en su componente mayoritario (verbascósido) fue determinado en ratas después de la administración subcutánea de EMATst. Se estableció además la unión al receptor estrogénico (RE) tanto de EMATst como de verbascósido. EMATst sólo a la dosis más alta (10-5M) produjo una alteración significativa del ciclo estral, lo que podría atribuirse a un efecto antiestrogénico. La unión al RE de EMATst y verbascósido se produjo a concentraciones 1000 veces mayor que el 17beta-estradiol y de forma competitiva.