Austin, TX—American Botanical Council has announced reindeer lichen (Cladonia rangiferina) as the newest member of its Adopt-an-Herb botanical research and education program. The herb was adopted by developer and manufacturer of functional ingredients Nutraland. The company is one of 79 U.S. and international companies and organizations that supports ABC's educational efforts to gather, organize, and disseminate reliable traditional and science-based information. Currently, there have been a total of 92 herbs "adopted" by the program. 

The Inductee

As a cold-hardy species that grows in well-drained locations of both hot and cold climates, Caldonia rangiferina (family: Cladoniaceae) is specific to boreal forests and alpine tundra. It is also known as reindeer lichen because of its role as an important food source for reindeer (caribou) and when properly prepared has also been used as a source for human food and medicine. A natural source of vitamin D3, Reindeer lichen is immunoprotective, antimicrobial, and antioxidant and has been used to help treat kidney stones and diarrhea.

"We hope that our adoption of reindeer lichen will raise awareness about this unique and beneficial herb. By highlighting reindeer lichen in the Adopt-an-Herb program, we can educate consumers about its natural vitamin D3 content that provides a truly plant-based alternative to synthetically derived D3... Equally important is the industry connection. We believe that our adoption will help to expand the database of information on reindeer lichen and be a valuable resource for manufacturers to help ensure their products are not synthetically spiked or otherwise adulterated," shared Gene Bruno, Chief Scientific Officer of Nutraland.

Adoption Program

Adopting herbs into the ABC program supports its extensive HerbMedPro database and continues ensuring access for researchers, health professionals, industry members, students, consumers, and other members of the herbal and dietary supplement and natural medicine communities to the robust, unique research, and educational resource. HerbMedPro provides access to scientific and clinical research data on the uses and health effects of over 275 herbs, spices, medicinal plants, and fungi through a comprehensive, interactive online database. 

“Nutraland’s adoption enables ABC to further its unique nonprofit research and educational mission by ensuring that HerbMedPro contains the latest scientific and clinical research on this respected traditional medicinal herb," commented ABC Founder and Executive Director, Mark Bluenthal. 

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