12.01.07
Alkemists Pharmaceuticals, Costa Mesa, CA, has announced that its random spot-checking of seven brands of weight loss supplements containing the ingredient Hoodia gordonii found no adulteration or contamination. As part of Alkemists Pharmaceuticals’ Premium Partner Random Analysis Program, dietary supplements are acquired via “secret shopping” retail locations that are randomly selected and scrutinized for identity, purity and authentication of ingredients. In this case, the ingredient Hoodia gordonii was inspected. Utilizing its Analytical Triad Analysis, Alkemists conducts tests whereby systematic identification and detection of botanicals and their marker compounds are evaluated for quality control. The most updated and sophisticated combination of technologies is employed, including digital photo-microscopy (DPM), high performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) and/or high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).