AUSTIN, Texas—The American Botanical Council (ABC) presented its 2013 Varro E. Tyler Commercial Investment in Phytomedicinal Research Award to Wakunaga Pharmaceutical Company, Ltd., of Osaka, Japan. The company, founded in 1955, is committed to rigorous scientific and clinical research of its products, including the clinically researched odorless Aged Garlic Extract.
“The ABC Varro E. Tyler Award represents our extensive chemical, pharmacological, and clinical research on Wakunaga's proprietary Aged Garlic Extract, sold as Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract in the USA and almost 50 international markets," said Albert Dahbour, vice president of Wakunaga of America, a subsidiary established in the early 1970s. “We invest a lot in scientific discovery and to be recognized for our dedication to botanical research is very inspiring for us."
In 2012, garlic was the second best-selling herbal dietary supplement in the food, drug and mass-market channel in the United States. According to Levy, Kyolic is responsible for 70 percent of branded garlic sales in the natural foods category in the U.S.
The award is named after Prof. Varro E. Tyler, an early trustee of ABC, dean of the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Purdue University, and vice-president of academic affairs at Purdue. He was the senior author of six editions of the leading textbook in the field, as well as many other professional and popular books and articles in academic literature. Previous recipients of the awards include Horphag Research of Switzerland for 2012; Bioforce AG of Switzerland for 2011; New Chapter, Inc. of the United States for 2010; Bionorica AG of Germany for 2009; Indena SpA of Italy for 2008; and Dr. Willmar Schwabe Pharmaceuticals of Germany for 2007. The award was announced at the 9th Annual ABC Botanical Celebration and Awards Ceremony on March 6 in Anaheim, CA.