Dear Reader,
It is my
pleasure to introduce to you the first edition of the “Botanical Adulterants
Monitor.” Adulteration of botanical materials has been a topic of continued
media attention and sensational press coverage of publications. For example, there is the highly flawed DNA barcoding study by Newmaster et al. published in BMC Medicine last October. The
authors of the paper curiously concluded that close to 60% of the 44 tested North
American herbal products contained materials from undeclared botanical sources.
This study led to increased confusion by consumers and producers of herbal
products, and to attacks in the mainstream media on the dietary supplement
industry with calls for more stringent regulations.
Our goal for
this newsletter is to provide newly available information on issues surrounding
accidental and intentional adulteration -- and, to a lesser extent, the equally
important problems of contamination -- as reported by regulatory agencies or in
published studies. In general, the content of the “Botanical Adulterants
Monitor” will focus on providing solutions to current problems related to
adulteration and botanical ingredient authenticity.
Without
knowledge of botanical materials that are subject to adulteration, and the
identity of the adulterants, the task for industry to take corrective action is
more difficult. This newsletter is an ideal place to provide members of the herb
and natural products industry with possible solutions to existing problems. An
example of useful new information is our assessment of three recent publications
for the authentication and detection of adulteration of Panax species in the review of the scientific literature section
below.
The Botanical Adulterants Monitor is
produced by and includes updates on the work of the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical
Adulterants Program. Other sections include recent regulatory actions in the US
(and, eventually in later issues, other countries) regarding substitution and
other forms of adulteration of botanical materials, a review of the scientific
literature, and listings of upcoming or recent educational events that address
proper identification, authentication, and adulteration-detection techniques.
As such, this newsletter is intended to be a helpful resource for members of
industry, scientists at academic institutions and regulatory agencies who are interested
in authentication of herbal materials and the detection of adulteration, as
well as to health professionals, herbalists, and other stakeholders. We look
forward to comments and suggestions, and invite every reader to contact us at
ABC to share insights and possible experiences on adulteration issues, or ideas
on topics of interest for readers of the Botanical
Adulterants Monitor.
Stefan Gafner, PhD
Chief Science Officer, ABC
Technical Director,
ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program
