NOTE: Reporters are welcome to schedule phone interviews with speakers before the symposium by calling Lauren Schwartz at (303) 492-3396.
CU MUSEUM TO HOST SYMPOSIUM
"Herbs in Modern Health Care" will be the subject of a one-day symposium with noted speakers in the health care and medical professions on Saturday, March 15, at the University of Colorado Museum in Boulder.
Topics to be covered include the history of herb use and regulation, quality control in herbal preparations and effectiveness of herbal remedies in Western medicine.
The keynote speaker will be Paul Alan Cox, noted author and researcher who will talk on "Ethnobotany and the Search for New Drugs." Cox is dean of general education and honors and professor of botany at Brigham Young University. Co-author of "Plants, People and Culture: The Science of Ethnobotany," Cox has conducted research in the Samoan rain forest on native uses of plants.
Also speaking will be Robert McCaleb, founder and president of the Herb Research Foundation of Boulder, on the topic "A Brief History of Herb Use and Regulation," and Robert Rountree, M.D., of Helios Health Center in Boulder on the topic "Herbs in Medical Practice: Their Usefulness and Their Limitations."
Trish Flaster, president and CEO of Botanical Liaisons, a Boulder consulting firm for international botanical sourcing and product development, will address the symposium on "Quality Control: Do You Know Where Your Herbs Come From."
David Kroll, pharmacy assistant professor at the School of Pharmacy at the CU Health Sciences Center in Denver, will discuss "Scientific and Clinical Effectiveness of Herbal Medicine: A Pharmacist1s Perspective."
The discussions will be moderated by Herbert Jacobs, M.D., a gynecologist and clinical faculty member at the CU Health Sciences Center in Denver.
Symposium preregistration will begin at 8:15 a.m. in the Chemistry Building, room 140. Fees for the full day are $40 for the general public, $25 for museum members and students with a valid ID, and $15 for museum student members.
Continuing Education credit in pharmacy can be earned for participation. Registration is required before March 5. For information call (303) 315-8645.
Symposium sponsors are the University of Colorado Museum and the CU School of Pharmacy, Wild Oats and Alfalfa1s markets and Interweave Press of Loveland.
The symposium is being offered in conjunction with the University of Colorado Museum exhibit, "The Healing Power of Plants" on the medicinal uses of plants in various world cultures. The exhibit explores the effects of ingested plants and how medicines from plants are identified and produced. Also featured are problems of species and habitat depletion caused by development and the growing interest in alternative medicines.
Museum hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed on holidays. Admission is free and the museum is wheelchair accessible. Pay parking is available in the Euclid Avenue Autopark.
For information on museum events call (303) 492-3396 or 492-6892.