Dear Reader,

 

A review on pomegranate juice and fruit extract adulteration was published as part of the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program in HerbalGram 112. The paper, written by John H. Cardellina II, PhD, and Mark Blumenthal, focuses on the admixture of undeclared low-cost fruit juices, sugars, anthocyanins, and food colorants to pomegranate juice, and the spiking of pomegranate fruit extracts with pure ellagic acid from extraneous sources.

 

Details on the Agreement between the Attorney General of the State of New York (NY AG) and NBTY, the largest dietary supplement manufacturer in the United States, are explained in the Regulatory Alerts section of this newsletter. This agreement comes more than 18 months after an investigation initiated by the NY AG alleged, based on inaccurate results from the misuse of DNA barcode testing, that products manufactured by NBTY and sold under the Walmart and Walgreens store brand names were adulterated. The agreement was signed despite the fact that there was no evidence that NBTY did not comply with requirements outlined in the current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulations for dietary supplements.

 

Also in the Regulatory Alerts section are two cases involving the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), an independent organization that enforces a range of legislations in Australia. In one case, a fine was issued to a company for selling adulterated tea tree oil, while the other case involves five manufacturers of oregano spice products that were found to be selling products containing a substantial amount of adulterant material, such as olive leaf. The two larger manufacturers, Aldi Foods Pty Ltd and Monde Nissin (Australia) Pty Ltd, agreed to annual testing for absence of adulterants in their oregano products and to implement a random sample testing protocol for herb or spice products other than oregano.

 

The number of papers on topics of adulteration published in peer-reviewed journals seems to be on the rise, in particular due to the more frequent initiatives involving DNA-based investigations by academic institutions. For this issue of the Botanical Adulterants Monitor, six papers were summarized: two papers presenting chromatographic methods to detect adulteration of grapefruit seed extracts and black cohosh root and rhizome, respectively; an investigation into the authenticity of commercial products labeled to contain rhodiola root; and three papers where the authors used genetic approaches for authentication. Ivanova et al. took a close look at the sequencing step in DNA barcoding, and compared the success between Sanger and next-generation sequencing (NGS) in commercial echinacea, fenugreek, ginkgo, St. John’s wort, and valerian products. Raja et al. looked at DNA barcoding to identify mushrooms sold as dietary supplements or for culinary use. Both papers provide valuable data on the strengths and shortcomings of DNA-based authentication methods. The third DNA paper summarizes the results of an investigation into the identity of crude raw materials obtained by researchers asking for asoka in local markets in India.

 

We hope you will find this issue of the Botanical Adulterants Monitor of value and that you will pass this on to your quality control and purchasing staff, as well as other colleagues, so they can take appropriate measures to ensure that adulterated ingredients do not find their way into consumer products.

 

 

Stefan Gafner, PhD

Chief Science Officer

American Botanical Council

Technical Director, ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program