Herbal Product Manufacturer - Custom Formulations and Herbal Extracts
Grant to Study Feverfew for Migraine Prevention
Awarded to Phyto-Technologies, Inc.

Phyto-Technologies, Inc., an herbal products company located in Woodbine, Iowa, has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine to study feverfew [Tanacetum parthenium (L.) Schultz Bip.] for migraine prevention. This is the second year of Phase II of Grant 5 R44 AT000770-03: Reproducible Feverfew Preparations for Migraine Trials that is being fully funded in the amount of $690,337.

Dr. Albert Y. Leung, Phyto-Technologies’ president, is the Principal Investigator.  Born and raised in Hong Kong, Dr. Leung is a classical pharmacognosist trained at the University of Michigan.  He is well-known in the herbal industry as an outspoken advocate for herbal product quality and safety.  Dr. Dennis V.C. Awang, of MediPlant, Inc., an expert in the chemistry of feverfew, is the Co-Principal Investigator.   

The study focuses on identification, characterization, standardization, and manufacture of reproducible feverfew preparations to be used in clinical trials.  Phase I research focused on developing unique multifaceted physicochemical techniques for the identification and characterization of feverfew selections, potential adulterants, and feverfew materials used in previous clinical trials.  Phase II research utilizes these techniques, complemented by biological and genetic assays, to identify, characterize, and standardize feverfew preparations with the most anti-migraine potential for clinical trials. 

According to Dr. Leung, many herbal products do not work because there are presently no truly meaningful and/or relevant standards for herbs and their extracts, resulting in the current general lack of uniform quality of herbal products.  “Our research will, for the first time in the history of herbal medicine, provide a meaningful and workable model to control the quality of not only feverfew products, but also herbal products in general.” 

Phyto-Technologies specializes in herb research and in custom formulation/manufacture of Chinese herbal products for private-label distribution. “Our approach to herbal technology is to combine appropriate science with tradition that is necessary to retain the total benefits of traditional herbs,” stated Dr. Leung.  “And our consistent advocation and success in defining herb quality has made Phyto-Technologies a recognized leader in the proper modernization of traditional Chinese medicine,” added Mr. Darin Smith, Phyto-Technologies’ Vice President and General Manager. 

For further information on the feverfew grant and an interview with Dr. Leung, please call Terry Jinks at 773.342.7808.  Chinese please call 712-647-2563.  For Dr. Leung’s bio and article on traditional Chinese medicine, go to www.earthpower.com
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