Plant Extracts
There is a huge surge in the interest in standardised plant extracts as food supplements. One of the biggest questions people often ask is why are they standardised? The simple reason being that just extracting the essence of a plant does not bring the sort of quality that both regulators are requiring and customers are demanding.
For example in a recent study into Ginkgo Biloba over 100 samples from different suppliers were tested for the active ingredient against the label amount and it produced a worrying picture. Some had 400% more than was stated on the label and sadly some had none. Now you might think that 400% is good value but in fact 400% might be harmful and it might be a waste of money.
So check out your supplements to see if they are standardised – if not caveat emptor – or buyer beware.
