Roy Upton, RH, DAy has been working and practicing professionally as an herbalist since 1981. Trained in ayurvedic, Chinese, and western herbal medicine traditions Roy is the founder, executive director, and editor of the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, is a co-founder, past president, and vice-president of the American Herbalists Guild (AHG), and serves on the Committee of Revision for the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and botanical expert advisory committees of AOAC International, the American Botanical Council, and NSF International.

Roy is also visiting faculty for the Master of Science in Herbal Medicine program at Tai Sophia, Laurel, MD, and the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Program at the University of Southern California, School of Pharmacy, Los Angeles, CA. In addition, Roy is the staff herbalist for the California-based herbal supplements company, Planetary Herbals, is a member of the Standards Committee of the American Herbal Products Association, and is an internationally recognized lecturer and author of numerous popular and peer-reviewed scientific publications.

Over the years, many HerbMentor members have asked questions about regulations regarding herbs, information, and products. We collected member questions, and this interview is based on those questions.

You can visit Roy at the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia: http://www.herbal-ahp.org