International professor joins College of Pharmacy faculty to teach students about herbal medicines

Herbal supplements have become more popular, as Americans look for natural alternatives to replace or complement conventional medicines or treatments.

Americans spent $4.13 billion on herbal supplement sales in 2000, according to Nutrition Business Journal. Some of the most popular herbal supplements, including gingko biloba, St. John’s wort and echinacea, are purchased as alleged remedies for central nervous system disorders or as immune system boosters. Herbal medicinal products have been reported useful in alleviating almost any health problem, including diseases of the respiratory tract; disorders of the stomach, bowel, liver and bile; dermatologic conditions; urinary tract disorders; inflammatory conditions; and cardiovascular disorders.

Manufacturers and distributors do not need Food and Drug Administration approval to sell dietary supplements, including vitamins, minerals, and herbs or other botanicals, but are responsible for determining their safety. Still, medical studies have reported certain herbal supplements, including St. John’s wort, often used as a natural antidepressant, may interact with prescription drugs, rendering them ineffective.

“The emergence of interactions between St. John’s wort and certain prescription medicines has necessitated regulatory action worldwide and has highlighted the need for health-care professionals to have up-to-date scientific information on the quality, safety and efficacy of these products,” said Veronika Butterweck, Ph.D., the DeSantis professor of natural products at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy.

The DeSantis Term Professorship in Natural Products was established in 2002 through a $1.5 million gift by 1982 alumna Debbie DeSantis and her mother, Sylvia DeSantis. Debbie DeSantis is the daughter of the founders of Rexall Sundown, a major manufacturer of herbal supplements.

While DeSantis was a student, a professor named Koppaka V. Rao, Ph.D., of the department of medicinal chemistry, taught pharmacognosy — the study of herbal medicines — at the College of Pharmacy. Known for his knowledge of medicinal plants and folk medicine, Rao taught until his death in 1998.

Recognizing the void Rao’s death left and that the gradual loss of the study of herbal medicine in U.S. pharmacy schools, DeSantis and her mother made the gift to establish the faculty position in the department of pharmaceutics to focus on the biopharmaceutics, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of natural products.

“I always regarded my natural products class as one of the most interesting, informative, and practical classes I had experienced during my pharmacy education. I also found that the majority of pharmacists who had not been exposed to such a class were very interested in the material,” DeSantis said.

The college began an extensive search for a professor with experience in teaching about herbal medicines. It became evident that this was not expertise easily found in the United States.

“Through our collaboration with European universities, we were very successful in recruiting a highly qualified educator and researcher in herbal medicine,” Hartmut Derendorf, chairman of the pharmaceutics department, said.

Butterweck, who assumed the DeSantis professorship in September 2003, came to UF from the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Munster, Germany. She became interested in pharmacognosy as a pharmacy student at the same university.

Now, drawing on Butterweck’s expertise, the College of Pharmacy offers a course called Herbal Medicines. The course introduces students to aspects related to safety, quality and efficacy of herbal medicinal products, including techniques for ensuring quality control, batch-to-batch consistency, specification concepts and relevant international guidelines. Considering the distinctive characteristics of herbal medicinal products, the course will address problems in the evaluation of efficacy in pharmacological and clinical studies.

College of Pharmacy Dean William Riffee, Ph.D., sees pharmacists as having a vital role in recognizing drug interactions and advising patients about the herbal remedies they may be taking but not reporting to their doctors.

“Americans spend billions of dollars a year on natural products. It’s imperative that pharmacists have adequate knowledge in this area,” Riffee said.

With the college’s support, Butterweck is studying herbal medicines with central nervous system activity. She is focusing on the investigation of plants with antidepressant or anxiety-relieving activity, phytomedicines for the treatment of restlessness and sleep disturbances, and herbal remedies for the prevention of alcohol dependency. She also studies how the body absorbs, distributes, metabolizes and excretes herbal medicinal products, which provides valuable information on potential drug-herb interactions, aiding practitioners in prescribing herbs safely and effectively.

Butterweck cites the trust that the majority of consumers have in herbal medicines as one of the advantages of botanicals.

“Furthermore, when compared with conventional drugs, herbal medicines have fewer side effects, leading to a better compliance of patients,” Butterweck said. “The use of herbal medicines can be recommended for the treatment of mild to moderate disorders; for this indication, herbal medicines might be superior compared to synthetic drugs.”

DeSantis is delighted to see this specialty return to the College of Pharmacy.

“This was certainly an area worth reviving,” Debbie added. “Dr. Butterweck’s expertise is a valuable addition to the reintroduction of the study of herbal medicine.