{"id":1983,"date":"2015-02-12T15:04:32","date_gmt":"2015-02-12T20:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nybg.org\/science-talk\/?p=1983"},"modified":"2015-02-12T15:04:51","modified_gmt":"2015-02-12T20:04:51","slug":"in-the-news-dr-dennis-wm-stevenson-in-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/science-talk\/2015\/02\/in-the-news-dr-dennis-wm-stevenson-in-the-new-york-times\/","title":{"rendered":"In the News: Dr. Dennis Wm. Stevenson in The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stevenson Swanson<\/a> is the Garden\u2019s Science Media Manager.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"Ginkgo<\/a>
Ginkgo biloba<\/em> ‘Pendula’<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The label on that herbal supplement may say it’s Ginkgo biloba<\/em>, but given the loose regulation of this multi-billion-dollar industry, how can a consumer be sure that that is what it really contains?<\/p>\n

That question prompted the New York Attorney General\u2019s office to investigate the ingredients in some popular herbal supplements using a technology that examines the DNA of the ingredients to determine what they are. The investigation\u2019s disturbing findings\u2014four out of five of the products tested did not contain any of the herbs on their labels\u2014led New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to order<\/a> Target, Walgreens, Walmart, and GNC to stop selling their house brands of the supplements.<\/p>\n

Using similar DNA \u201cbarcoding\u201d technology, New York Botanical Garden scientists have been studying the same question for years, as Dennis Wm. Stevenson, Ph.D., Cullman Curator and Vice President for Botanical Research, pointed out in a letter to the editor that ran in the February 10 edition of The New York Times.<\/em>
\n
\nThe issues at stake include not only accurate information for the consumer but also potentially adverse effects from unwittingly consuming a plant species that triggers an allergic response.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany herbal teas contain chamomile but do not list chamomile on the label,\u201d Dr. Stevenson wrote. \u201cSo what is a doctor to do when a patient exhibits an allergic reaction to chamomile, but the patient has no idea that he or she has consumed that species?”<\/p>\n

Proper testing and labeling could easily solve this problem, he added.<\/p>\n

You can read the full text of Dr. Stevenson\u2019s letter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And to read about the latest DNA-barcode test on an herbal supplement by Associate Curator Damon Little, Ph.D., in the Garden\u2019s Cullman Program for Molecular Systematics, go here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Herbal supplements are a multi-billion-dollar industry, but what’s really inside the bottles lining the shelves of the nutrition department?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":1985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[139,457,456,311,455],"yoast_head":"\nIn the News: Dr. Dennis Wm. Stevenson in The New York Times - Science Talk Archive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/science-talk\/2015\/02\/in-the-news-dr-dennis-wm-stevenson-in-the-new-york-times\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In the News: Dr. Dennis Wm. 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