Mark Blumenthal is the founder and executive director of the American Botanical Council (ABC), an independent, nonprofit research and education organization dedicated to providing education using science-based and traditional information to promote responsible use of herbal medicine and related preparations from beneficial plants and fungi. He is the editor-in-chief and publisher of HerbalGram, an award-winning international, peer-reviewed quarterly journal, the contents of which reflect the educational goals of ABC. For six years he was an Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin, College of Pharmacy, teaching a course on herbal products in today’s pharmacy. Mark served as co-founder and former vice-president of the Herb Research Foundation (HRF), a nonprofit research organization. When he was formerly in the herb industry over 25 years ago, he was president of the Herb Trade Association, the former organization that represented the interest of the herb industry in the 1970s and was a founding board member of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA).

He is the senior editor of the English translation of The Complete German Commission E Monographs—Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines, a rational system for evaluating the safety and efficacy of herbal medicines. This publication was ranked second of the medical books published in 1998. Mark is also the senior editor of The ABC Clinical Guide to Herbs, a reference book and former continuing education module, and co-author of ABC’s forthcoming reference book on solvents used in botanical extracts. He is also the director of the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program, an international consortium of industry, analytical laboratories, nonprofit research societies, trade associations et al. that are dedicated to educating industry about the problems associated with accidental and intentional adulteration of botanical raw materials, extracts, and essential oils.

Mark has appeared on over 600 radio and television shows and has written over 700 articles, reviews and book chapters for many major publications. He has been a leader in the concern for more rational regulations of herbal and natural product manufacturing, and education on plant-based medicines for over 40 years.