Revised Saw Palmetto Bulletin Documents Adulteration with Fatty Acids from Animal Sources

Adulteration of saw palmetto (Serenoa repens, Arecaceae) by adding undeclared vegetable oils, e.g., palm oil, canola oil, coconut oil, or sunflower oil, to saw palmetto extracts for financial gain has been known since in the early 2000s. Over the past two years, several saw palmetto suppliers have reported the sale of a particularly sophisticated type of adulterated saw palmetto extracts, mainly from suppliers in Asian countries. These materials are partly made using fatty acids obtained from animal fats and are designed to have the same fatty acid composition as authentic saw palmetto extracts.

The updated saw palmetto bulletin has been co-authored by Scott Baggett, PhD, consultant for analytical methods to the natural products industry, and Stefan Gafner, PhD, ABC chief science officer and Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program technical director. Besides information on new forms of adulteration and how to detect them, the bulletin provides updated information on the saw palmetto market by adding the latest US sales data and a discussion of the new harvest permitting requirements issued by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in July 2018. Six expert peer reviewers provided input on the revised saw palmetto bulletin.