By James Gormley, Gormley NPI Consulting01.18.24
When asked to identify the most commonly adulterated botanicals, Deleo de Leonardis, CEO of Toronto, ON-based Purity-IQ Inc., noted: “Anytime there is an increased demand for a product there is a very real risk of economically motivated adulteration.”
“For example, during COVID, sales of elderberry supplements skyrocketed due to its purported immunity-boosting properties,” she added. “Some other high-risk examples that we have come across include ashwagandha, turmeric, and medicinal mushrooms (Cordyceps, Lion’s Mane, etc.)—although mushrooms aren’t botanicals per se, the ambiguity surrounding the naming convention (mycelium vs. fruiting body) has created considerable adulteration opportunities.”
Expanding on the problems of adulteration, de Leonardis offered: “For example, assessments depend on the information provided by suppliers. If the supplier isn’t transparent or is falsifying information, it can compromise the assessment—relying solely on a COA (Certificate of Analysis) can also be problematic, especially when dealing with new suppliers.”
“Once again, these can be falsified,” she said about COAs. “More and more it is being acknowledged that the best strategy is to conduct one’s own third-party testing.”
What is Purity-IQ doing to promote greater authenticity?
“First, we created Purity-IQ specifically to provide authenticity services,” de Leonardis said. “It’s our singular focus (i.e., we don’t offer any other routine testing such as heavy metals, pesticides, microbials, etc.). We verify and validate the identity, purity, and consistency of ingredients and of finished products.”
Additionally, Purity-IQ invested in what de Leonardis called “one of the most powerful technologies best suited for authenticity testing: namely Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.”
What sets NMR apart from other methods? de Leonardis said it provides “non-targeted analysis.”
“What this means is that NMR provides a complete picture of all the compounds in a product, not just one specific predefined target,” she noted. “In other words, when you use targeted analytical methods, you need to determine upfront what it is you want to know—you’re looking for X and the targeted method will tell you if X is there. But it won’t tell you if anything else is in there.”
When it comes to authenticity testing, de Leonardis explained, “When there are thousands of possible adulterants, you would need to run multiple tests to uncover which adulterant might be in a product—this can end up being costly and inefficient. That’s the power of non-targeted testing methodologies; they are unbiased. We like to say that ‘you can’t hide from NMR’—and this is why we selected NMR as one of the cornerstones of our science.”
“Even when sourcing from the top suppliers of quality material, things can happen. And we’ve seen every trick in the book by unscrupulous suppliers, including the surprisingly common practice of altering Certificates of Analysis. The best defense against adulteration is to test early and often with a lab that knows what they are doing.”
The worst offender of 2023 was Sambucus nigra (black elderberry), he noted. “It was at the top of the failure list for the whole year. We would have thought problems with this herb that surfaced early in the COVID pandemic would have worked their way through the supply chain, but that’s not what we’ve seen. People are clearly still buying it; it wasn’t just a COVID demand.”
Other herbs Alkemist Labs is keeping its eyes on include:
• Althaea officinalis
• Cinnamomum verum
• Citrus x aurantium
• Dioscorea villosa
• Eleutherococcus senticosus
• Foeniculum vulgare
• Hericium erinaceus
• Huperzia serrata
• Malus pumila
• Matricaria recutita
• Panax ginseng
• Paullinia cupana
• Salix sp.
• Sambucus nigra
• Siraitia grosvenorii
• Sophora japonica
• Urtica dioica
• Vaccinium macrocarpon
• Vitis vinifera
• Withania somnifera
Other things to keep in mind? “Even when sourcing from the top suppliers of quality material, things can happen,” added Sudberg. “And we’ve seen every trick in the book by unscrupulous suppliers, including the surprisingly common practice of altering Certificates of Analysis. The best defense against adulteration is to test early and often with a lab that knows what they are doing.”
Discussing cranberry juice, Stephen Lukawski, CEO of Research Science Specialty Ingredients Inc (RSSI), Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, said, “Cranberry juice concentrate has been dried for many years with maltodextrin. In fact, some companies have been using up to 90% of maltodextrin to produce cranberry juice powder, which surprisingly has been acceptable in the dietary supplement industry as a cranberry juice powder.”
Lukawski is convinced that with NMR identification testing, any given company would fail cranberry juice powder containing maltodextrin.
“I’m trying to eliminate the need for maltodextrin, and use other fiber, such as acacia or Sunfiber in the drying process of concentrates,” added Lukawski. “Because of the sugar content in certain berries, I have to use more of the fiber to dry the concentrate into powder to prevent clumping.”
“Identification testing in my opinion, does not work if you’re looking for a single biomarker when the combination is 50-50.”
About the Author: James Gormley has been an award-winning natural products industry writer, editor and thought leader since 1995. The head of Gormley NPI Consulting, James can be reached via his website, JamesGormley.com or via email at jamesgormley01@gmail.com.
“For example, during COVID, sales of elderberry supplements skyrocketed due to its purported immunity-boosting properties,” she added. “Some other high-risk examples that we have come across include ashwagandha, turmeric, and medicinal mushrooms (Cordyceps, Lion’s Mane, etc.)—although mushrooms aren’t botanicals per se, the ambiguity surrounding the naming convention (mycelium vs. fruiting body) has created considerable adulteration opportunities.”
Expanding on the problems of adulteration, de Leonardis offered: “For example, assessments depend on the information provided by suppliers. If the supplier isn’t transparent or is falsifying information, it can compromise the assessment—relying solely on a COA (Certificate of Analysis) can also be problematic, especially when dealing with new suppliers.”
“Once again, these can be falsified,” she said about COAs. “More and more it is being acknowledged that the best strategy is to conduct one’s own third-party testing.”
Defending Against Adulteration
Stefan Gafner, chief scientific officer of the American Botanical Council, noted that, “In our fight and defense against adulteration, we need to use the right test method for identification and qualification.”What is Purity-IQ doing to promote greater authenticity?
“First, we created Purity-IQ specifically to provide authenticity services,” de Leonardis said. “It’s our singular focus (i.e., we don’t offer any other routine testing such as heavy metals, pesticides, microbials, etc.). We verify and validate the identity, purity, and consistency of ingredients and of finished products.”
Additionally, Purity-IQ invested in what de Leonardis called “one of the most powerful technologies best suited for authenticity testing: namely Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.”
What sets NMR apart from other methods? de Leonardis said it provides “non-targeted analysis.”
“What this means is that NMR provides a complete picture of all the compounds in a product, not just one specific predefined target,” she noted. “In other words, when you use targeted analytical methods, you need to determine upfront what it is you want to know—you’re looking for X and the targeted method will tell you if X is there. But it won’t tell you if anything else is in there.”
When it comes to authenticity testing, de Leonardis explained, “When there are thousands of possible adulterants, you would need to run multiple tests to uncover which adulterant might be in a product—this can end up being costly and inefficient. That’s the power of non-targeted testing methodologies; they are unbiased. We like to say that ‘you can’t hide from NMR’—and this is why we selected NMR as one of the cornerstones of our science.”
“Even when sourcing from the top suppliers of quality material, things can happen. And we’ve seen every trick in the book by unscrupulous suppliers, including the surprisingly common practice of altering Certificates of Analysis. The best defense against adulteration is to test early and often with a lab that knows what they are doing.”
— Elan Sudberg, Alkemist Labs
Transparent Testing
Garden, Grove, CA-based Alkemist Labs keeps its customers informed using its newsletter. “After collecting data for nearly 30 years we have begun to share the repeat offenders with the industry quarterly in the Alkemist Labs newsletter so our clients know to be especially vigilant with those materials,” said Alkemist Labs CEO Elan Sudberg.The worst offender of 2023 was Sambucus nigra (black elderberry), he noted. “It was at the top of the failure list for the whole year. We would have thought problems with this herb that surfaced early in the COVID pandemic would have worked their way through the supply chain, but that’s not what we’ve seen. People are clearly still buying it; it wasn’t just a COVID demand.”
Other herbs Alkemist Labs is keeping its eyes on include:
• Althaea officinalis
• Cinnamomum verum
• Citrus x aurantium
• Dioscorea villosa
• Eleutherococcus senticosus
• Foeniculum vulgare
• Hericium erinaceus
• Huperzia serrata
• Malus pumila
• Matricaria recutita
• Panax ginseng
• Paullinia cupana
• Salix sp.
• Sambucus nigra
• Siraitia grosvenorii
• Sophora japonica
• Urtica dioica
• Vaccinium macrocarpon
• Vitis vinifera
• Withania somnifera
Test Early and Often
“As the self-proclaimed ‘gate keepers’ of botanical and fungal quality in this industry, we are constantly [on the lookout for] new tricks up the sleeves of the unscrupulous,” added Sudberg. “Our clients count on us to detect incorrect species, plant parts, or just poor quality. All Alkemist Labs Certificates of Analysis show the methods we used with each test so clients can reproduce our analysis should they want to.”Other things to keep in mind? “Even when sourcing from the top suppliers of quality material, things can happen,” added Sudberg. “And we’ve seen every trick in the book by unscrupulous suppliers, including the surprisingly common practice of altering Certificates of Analysis. The best defense against adulteration is to test early and often with a lab that knows what they are doing.”
Discussing cranberry juice, Stephen Lukawski, CEO of Research Science Specialty Ingredients Inc (RSSI), Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, said, “Cranberry juice concentrate has been dried for many years with maltodextrin. In fact, some companies have been using up to 90% of maltodextrin to produce cranberry juice powder, which surprisingly has been acceptable in the dietary supplement industry as a cranberry juice powder.”
Lukawski is convinced that with NMR identification testing, any given company would fail cranberry juice powder containing maltodextrin.
“I’m trying to eliminate the need for maltodextrin, and use other fiber, such as acacia or Sunfiber in the drying process of concentrates,” added Lukawski. “Because of the sugar content in certain berries, I have to use more of the fiber to dry the concentrate into powder to prevent clumping.”
“Identification testing in my opinion, does not work if you’re looking for a single biomarker when the combination is 50-50.”
About the Author: James Gormley has been an award-winning natural products industry writer, editor and thought leader since 1995. The head of Gormley NPI Consulting, James can be reached via his website, JamesGormley.com or via email at jamesgormley01@gmail.com.
