HARBIN, China, July 3, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — China Botanic Pharmaceutical Inc. CBP +2.99% ("China Botanic" or the "Company"), a developer, manufacturer and distributor of botanical products, bio-pharmaceuticals and Traditional Chinese Medicines ("TCM") in China, today announced that the Company's Siberian Ginseng Extract was recognized as Safe Medicine at the 8th session of the Selection Event, hosted by the Health Newspaper in China and supported by the Ministry of Health of China.

In May 2012, at the 8th session of the Selection event, a total of 30 medicines manufactured by 30 Chinese pharmaceutical companies were recognized as Safe Medicine by civilians. Since its debut in 2004, the Selection Event is well known in China's pharmaceutical industry. The selection procedure includes conducting surveys of Chinese consumers and their opinion of products offered by domestic pharmaceutical companies The Selection Event is designed to understand the needs of patients and gain valuable insights from the general population on the quality and remedial effect of different medications.

"We are honored that our Siberian Ginseng Extract product has been recognized as Safe Medicine by our domestic consumers along with 29 other medicines from well-known pharmaceutical companies. We believe this reflects on our commitment to deliver high-quality products which optimally meet our customer's needs," commented Mr. Shaoming Li, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of China Botanic. "We are encouraged by this recognition as we continue to make efforts to expand the scope and reach of Siberian Ginseng in China and internationally."

For more information on the 8th session of the Selection Event, please visit http://aqyy.jkb.com.cn .

ABOUT CHINA BOTANIC PHARMACEUTICAL INC

China Botanic Pharmaceutical Inc. is engaged in the research, development, manufacturing, and distribution of botanical products, bio-pharmaceutical products, and traditional Chinese medicines ("TCM"), in the People's Republic of China. All of the Company's products are produced at its three GMP-certified production facilities in Ah City, Dongfanghong and Qingyang. The Company distributes its botanical anti-depression and nerve-regulation products, biopharmaceutical products, and botanical antibiotic and OTC TCMs through its network of over 3,000 distributors and over 70 sales centers across 24 provinces in China. For more information, please visit www.renhuang.com .

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains certain statements that may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based upon management's beliefs, assumptions and expectations of the Company's future operations and financial performance, taking into account the information currently available to management. These statements are not statements of historical fact. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, some of which are not currently known that may cause actual results, performance or financial condition to be materially different from the expectations of future results, performance or financial condition expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current plans and expectations and are subject to a number of uncertainties including, but not limited to, the Company's ability to manage expansion of its operations effectively, and other factors detailed in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are cautioned not to unduly rely on such forward-looking statements when evaluating the information presented herein.

In vitro estrogenic activities of Chinese medicinal plants traditionally used for the management of menopausal symptoms.
Zhang CZ, Wang SX, Zhang Y, Chen JP, Liang XM.
Source

Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhongshan Road No. 161, Dalian 116011, PR China.
Abstract

The estrogenic activity of 70% EtOH extracts of 32 traditional Chinese medicinal plants, selected according to their reported efficacy for the treatment of menopausal symptoms, was assessed using a recombinant yeast system with both a human estrogen receptor expression plasmid and a reporter plasmid. Among them, 11 (34%) species proved to be active. Polygonum cuspidatum had the highest estrogenic relative potency (RP) (3.28 x 10(-3)), followed by Rheumpalmatum (3.85 x 10(-4)), Cassia obtusifolia (3.49 x 10(-4)), Polygonum multiflorum (2.87 x 10(-4)), Epimedium brevicornum (2.30 x 10(-4)), Psoralea corylifolia (1.90 x 10(-4)), Cynomorium songaricum (1.78 x 10(-4)), Belamcanda chinensis (1.26 x 10(-4)), Scutellaria baicalensis (8.77 x 10(-5)), Astragalus membranaceus (8.47 x 10(-5)) and Pueraria lobata (6.17 x 10(-5)). The EC(50) value of 17beta-estradiol used as the positive control was 0.205+/-0.025 ng/ml (RP=100). This study gave support to the reported efficacy of Chinese medicines used for hormone replacement therapy.

J Ethnopharmacol. 2005 Apr 26;98(3):295-300.

Years after a large study on hormone replacement therapy revealed health risks among older women using it to prevent chronic disease, the number of women who take hormones continues to decline, according to a new study. The researchers found that in 2009 and 2010, less than five percent of women over age 40, who had already gone through menopause, use either estrogen alone or estrogen and progestin. That compared to about 22 percent in 1999 and 2000.

Dr. JoAnn Manson, a leader of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) research and a professor at Harvard Medical School, said it was appropriate that there was a decline in the number of women using hormones. The WHI reported in 2002 that taking estrogen plus progestin appeared to increase the risks of stroke, heart disease and breast cancer. "We now understand that women more distant from the onset menopause and at increased risk of cardiovascular disease have adverse outcomes on hormone therapy and that hormone therapy should not be used for prevention of heart disease or prevention of chronic disease because it is associated with some risks," Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, told Reuters Health.

The latest report, which included survey responses from more than 10,000 women, shows a steady drop and supports the results from other studies assessing the short-term impacts of the WHI. Brian Sprague, the lead author of the current study and a professor at the University of Vermont, and his colleagues found that as the years progressed, fewer and fewer women reported taking hormones. "From this study we have no way of teasing out what's driving these changes," Sprague said, adding that it's likely due to concerns from both women and their physicians about the health risks of taking hormones. An overreaction?

The increased breast cancer risk from hormone therapy was a major driver in turning people away from hormone therapy, said Dr. Robert Langer, a research member of the WHI and currently the principal investigator at the Jackson Hole Center for Preventive Medicine in Jackson, Wyoming. "I think it's a really substantial overreaction" to the harms that were found in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study, Langer told Reuters Health. The WHI found that eight additional women out of every 10,000 would get breast cancer, an increased risk of 26 percent. But he said those results applied to older women taking hormones to prevent chronic disease, not necessarily to younger women seeking relief from menopausal symptoms.

"The pendulum may have swung too far in the direction away from hormone therapy use," Manson said. Hormones are considered the most effective treatment for moderate and severe symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes and night sweats. For those women who use hormones, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends they be at the lowest dose and for the shortest amount of time. Manson said it's possible that concerns over the health risks of hormone therapy may be preventing women from getting relief from symptoms. "In a younger woman who has hot flashes, night sweats, and impaired quality of life, it is very likely that the benefits of short term hormone therapy will outweigh the risks," she said. She advises any woman seeking relief for menopause symptoms to discuss her individual risks and benefits of hormone therapy with a doctor.

After the initial findings in 2002, subsequent studies – both from WHI data and other trials – have tried to clarify the health risks of hormone therapy for different age groups. For younger women closer to menopause, for instance, some studies have found an increased risk of breast cancer while others have found a lower risk of heart disease and death compared to women not taking hormones. Manson is part of an ongoing trial looking at the effects of hormone therapy on heart disease risk for women ages 42 to 58 – a younger age group on average than the WHI. Another ongoing study is comparing the heart disease risks among women who begin taking hormone therapy soon after menopause or more than a decade later.