Dr. Nigel Gericke Joins Nature's Sunshine Products' Medical and Scientific Advisory Board

LEHI, Utah, Sept. 30, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nature's Sunshine Products, Inc. (Nasdaq:NATR), a leading natural health and wellness company engaged in the manufacture and direct sale of premium-quality nutritional and personal care products, today announced that Dr. Nigel Gericke of Cape Town, South Africa, has joined Nature's Sunshine Products' ("NSP") Medical and Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Gericke is a medical doctor, ethnobotanist and ethnopharmacologist specializing in documentation, discovery, innovation and unique product development from medicinal and food plants. He has a particular interest in phytochemicals that impact the central nervous system and in finding solutions for tropical diseases including malaria. As part of serving on this board, Dr. Gericke will assist with research activities, educate and train NSP and Synergy distributors, and speak at various company events.

"We look forward to working with Dr. Gericke and leveraging his expertise in developing emotional and physical well-being products from medicinal and food plants," said Gregory L. Probert, Nature's Sunshine Products' Chairman and CEO.

Dr. Matt Tripp, NSP's Chief Scientific Officer, added, "Dr. Gericke has conducted extensive research on indigenous African plants for over two decades and is an expert on everything from their use as botanical foods and medicine to development and commercialization, isolating active compounds, examining molecular biology and directing clinical studies validating plant safety and efficacy. Dr. Gericke's knowledge and experience will be of immense value in helping NSP offer up new innovations."

Dr. Gericke is the founding director of HG&H Pharmaceuticals Ltd. of South Africa and was principally involved in the research, innovation and development that led to the standardized extract Zembrin®. He is also the founding director and CEO of Integral Bioceuticals, Ltd., which pioneers novel bioactive ingredients, extracts and isolated compounds from African bioresources. He has also done extensive consulting work, served as the head of ethnobotany for Esperanza Medicines Foundation and served as the founding director of Phyto Nova, Ltd.

Dr. Gericke's work includes holding several patents for the use of various plant compounds and extracts (in both the US and other countries). He is the co-author of People's Plants—Useful Plants of Southern Africa and Medicinal Plants of South Africa. He has also contributed to the African Herbal Pharmacopoeia. His research has been circulated by many prestigious publications, including Neuropsychopharmacology, Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Planta Medica, Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, Journal of Botany and the Journal of Ethnopharmacology. He has presented his findings all over the world.

Dr. Gericke was educated at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa and graduated with an M.B.B.Ch in 1984. He also holds undergraduate degrees in botany and zoology from the same university. He is currently a member of the IUCN/WWF Medicinal Plants Specialist Group, a worldwide network of medicinal plant experts that strive to increase awareness of conservation threats to medicinal plants and to promote sustainable utilization and conservation of medicinal plants resources.

"I'm excited about this opportunity to work with Nature's Sunshine Products," Gericke said. "I believe nature holds the answer to so many of our health dilemmas, and I am glad to play a role in discovering those answers. Together, we can help people everywhere find improved health."

About Nature's Sunshine Products

Nature's Sunshine Products (Nasdaq:NATR), a leading natural health and wellness company, markets and distributes nutritional and personal care products through a global direct sales force of over 680,000 independent Managers, Distributors and customers in more than 40 countries. Nature's Sunshine manufactures most of its products through its own state-of-the-art facilities to ensure its products continue to set the standard for the highest quality, safety and efficacy on the market today. The Company has three reportable business segments that are divided based on the characteristics of their Distributor base, similarities in compensation plans, as well as the internal organization of NSP's officers and their responsibilities (NSP Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe; NSP Russia, Central and Eastern Europe; and Synergy WorldWide). The Company also supports health and wellness for children around the world through its partnership with the Sunshine Heroes Foundation. Additional information about the Company can be obtained at its website, www.naturessunshine.com.

CONTACT: Steve Bunker
         Chief Financial Officer
         Nature's Sunshine Products, Inc.
         Lehi, Utah 84043
         (801) 341-7303

Released September 30, 2014