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 The Bent Creek Institute is pleased to announce that it has, along with The North Carolina Arboretum, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Natural Products Alliance (www.unpa.com). The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding is to promote the research, economic development, conservation and public outreach activities of the Bent Creek Institute and the Arboretum to bring international attention to Western North Carolina�s unparalleled plant biodiversity, cultural distinctiveness and scientific expertise.
The United Natural Products Alliance, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a trade association representing dietary supplement companies worldwide, and works to bring safety, science, quality and respect to the U.S. and global dietary supplement marketplace. In 2004 the United Natural Products Alliance successfully lobbied to get the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) passed in Congress, which allowed for recognition of dietary supplements by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). �This agreement will open the door to national and international markets for our region�s dietary supplement and natural products growers and companies,� said Cheryl McMurry, President of Bent Creek Institute. �Increased access to Utah�s $6 billion dietary supplement industry will be an important and distinguishing advantage for our region.� �The United Natural Products Alliance is very interested in the rich natural products heritage of Western North Carolina, as well as the ongoing research initiatives underway at the Bent Creek Institute,� says Loren Israelsen, Executive Director of the United Natural Products Alliance. �The work being done at Bent Creek Institute will enhance the science and quality of dietary supplements, which is, of course, of great interest to the companies that the United Natural Products Alliance represents.� George Briggs, Executive Director of The North Carolina Arboretum sees this agreement as the next step in building a dietary supplement cluster in Western North Carolina. �Given the region�s tremendous biodiversity and long history of natural products knowledge and usage, this Memorandum of Understanding will help us expand the economic development capacity of the local industry.� The Bent Creek Institute is an economic development organization championing, coordinating and commercializing cutting edge research that investigates bioactivity in Appalachian medicinal herbs for efficacy in human health. The laboratories at Bent Creek Institute discover, develop and validate natural medicines and integrative strategies for human health and wellness. The Bent Creek Institute�s Germplasm Repository serves to conserve native medicinal germplasm through research, collaborative projects, database development and resulting publications. The North Carolina Arboretum cultivates connections between people and plants through creative expressions of landscape stewardship, including conservation, education, garden demonstration, research and economic development. The Arboretum is home to the Bent Creek Laboratories and Germplasm Repository. For information, call 828.665.2492 or visit www.ncarboretum.org. (Image provided by the NC Arboretum.)
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