Originally published October 17 2005
Schools unite to study herbal plants and medicine
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Joining with Frostburg State and West Virginia University, The University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute will construct a $60 million research facility with manufacturing capacities, to research and possibly market herbal remedies.
The University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and two universities plan to build a $60 million research facility in Western Maryland to study the health benefits of the region's herbal plants.
The facility would also include manufacturing capabilities and plants would be sold if they work.
The plan, proposed by officials at UMBI, Frostburg State and West Virginia University, was announced Thursday at a conference organized to promote the study and use of herbal plants.
Sales of medicinal and nutritional herbs generate an estimated $4 billion annually in the United States and $20 billion worldwide, conference organizers said.
About 25 medicinal plants grow in Western Maryland, including ginseng.
But most of the region's potential as an herbal medicine chest remains untapped, officials say.
We don't have anything in this region, but we should," Jennie Hunter-Cevera, UMBI president, told about 100 people at the conference.
The three schools formed the Appalachian Center for Ethnobotanical Studies about two years ago to focus research on herbal remedies.
Officials say they would like to see a research facility, a manufacturing plant for medicinal herbs, a think tank and a museum of Appalachian folklore built along Maryland's border with West Virginia.
No site has been selected, the source of funding remains unclear and the facilities are probably five to 10 years away, officials said.
"It's a lofty goal, but given what you see on the consumer side, with all of the interest in herbals and nutritional supplements, it makes sense," said Lawrence C. Mahan, director of biosciences for the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.
Sarbanes said the effort was worth considering because the schools planned to proceed in stages and would initially limit spending to research in herbal remedies.
"I think this is a tremendously exciting prospect," he told the conference.
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