Planta Med 2008; 74 - S-46
DOI: 10.1055/s-2008-1075194

Simple Authentication Methods for DietarySupplement Ingredient Integrity

S Dentali 1
  • 1American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring,MD 20910, USA

Correct implementation of dietary supplement current good manufacturing practices (cGMPs) requires knowledge of ingredient integrity issues. Cases of misbranding and/or adulteration must be clearly identified and the means to differentiate genuine articles from adulterants or substitutes (inadvertent or intentional) need to be readily available. Rather than conducting “test and tell” product surveys, or offering product and/or ingredient certifications, the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) has released ingredient integrity information to help address these issues in the belief that a strictly educational approach is also warranted. AHPA has chosen to demonstrate simple scientifically valid methods to help authenticate ingredient integrity in the specific cases of materials labeled as bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) extract and Hoodia gordonii powdered stem. A published report of misbranding and adulteration of bilberry powdered extracts has identified amaranth dye (Red No. 2) as an adulterant that enables compliance to anthocyanin strength specifications that are based solely on single wavelength spectrophotometric test methods1. In response, AHPA has made available information to educate industry about the potential quality problem with ingredients labeled as powdered bilberry extract that includes a pH color change reaction and a high performance thin layer chromatographic (HPTLC) assay. It is hoped that this approach will serve to both educate non-science trained dietary supplement personnel, and provide ready to employ tools appropriate for differentiating genuine bilberry fruit extract from material adulterated with amaranth dye. Microscopic and chromatographic assays methods of analysis are also presented as appropriate for testing materials labeled as Hoodia gordonii powdered stem. Acknowledgements: Thanks go to companies Alkemists Pharmaceuticals Inc., CAMAG Scientific Inc., Flora Research Laboratories, and MediHerb for technical contributions. The NHP Research Group at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy also collaborated on the Hoodia gordonii work. Partial funding provided by AHPA's Hoodia gordonii Committee is gratefully acknowledged. References: [1] Penman K, et al. (2006)J Agric Food Chem. 54: 7378–7382.