Is it true that if details about the form and source of the ingredient are not indicated in parentheses after the ingredient name (e.g. echinacea (angustifolia, root) 500mg), the actual amount of the active ingredient may be less than the stated amount?
I think the species of the plant should be indicated, so we know whether it is, for example, Echinacea purpurea, Echinacea angustifolia, or Echinacea pallida. All of the Echinacea species have some clinical benefits, but to just say Echinacea, I think, is not fair to the customer or practitioner. So the entire Latin name should definitely be indicated.
The amount of each ingredient in the capsule should be listed next. For example, in a 500mg capsule containing echinacea, hydrastis, and hypericum, how much of each herb does the capsule contain? Does the total equal 500mg, or is another substance added as filler, binder, or stabilizer?
Tinctures, which are water-alcohol preparations, should have a specified ratio or volume. For a 100ml tincture, 25ml of herb A, 30ml of herb B, and so on, should equal 100ml. Some companies only list the herbs without indicating their individual volumes, so you do not know if the ingredients are being listed in descending order of volume, as with food, in ascending order, or with no order at all.
Not disclosing proprietary formulas is unfortunate because it doesn't allow the practitioner or the consumer to effectively read the label and make a determination based on how much of a certain herb they require. Ideally, we should all be on the same wavelength.
Many products indicate that they are standardized (for example "St. John's Wort standardized to 0.3% hypericin"). What does this mean and what value is this to us as consumers?
Most standardized products have the whole herb in the bottle. During the manufacturing process, some of the alcohol and various extracts will be drawn off, which makes the tincture stronger and ensures that there is 0.3% hypericin in the bottle. So manufacturers are not pulling out a certain amount of hypericin from the plant, but they are ensuring this strength of the ingredient in the product they are manufacturing. However, there are other products that have only a particular ingredient, like capsaicin taken from capsicum for rheumatoid arthritis, and here you want the active ingredients only.
What is the controversy regarding standardization?
Let's use St. John's Wort as an example. At one point we believed the active ingredient was hypericin, so research was performed using products standardized to 0.3% hypericin. Consequently, if you had a product made by the company conducting the research you were assured of a product that had been tested in clinical trials. However, even though we currently believe that hyperforin is the more active ingredient in St. John's Wort, when we use formulas standardized to hypericin, we still get results. So the active constituent may be different, but we are still assured of some quality of product.
What is unfortunate is that some manufacturers prey on this standardized mentality - the label will indicate that it is standardized even though that herb has never been standardized in any clinical trial. When you look for the constituent it has been standardized to, such as terpenes, lactones, or saponins, there is nothing listed. This requires careful reading of a deceptive label.
Another unfortunate situation is that when quality assessments are performed, some products do not contain what is stated on the label (for example, 0.3% hypericin). Most, if not all, of the standardization has been performed in Europe, so it may be preferable to get a standardized product from a European company or one that is manufactured in Europe and imported to the United States and Canada.
Paul Saunders, ND, PhD, is a naturopathic doctor who has been practicing for over ten years near Toronto, Ontario. He is a graduate of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, where he is a faculty member, and has a doctorate in plant ecology from Duke University. Dr. Saunders recently served as an advisor to the Canadian government in establishing regulatory standards for herbs and supplements.
