Determining a Trustworthy Chinese Herb Supplier

December 7, 2009 by Ginseng Reviews and Tips
Filed under Chinese Herbs

With so many Chinese herbal medicine supplements on the market, how do you choose which brand to trust? How do you know the products are safe? These are good questions to ask if you are purchasing herbal supplements, whether you are an Acupuncturist, Herbalist or a consumer. There are 3 things you must know about before you purchase and herbal formula.

#1. Which factory is manufacturing the products and where are they located (US or abroad)? An herb supplement factory should be a GMP, (Good Manufacturing Practice) compliant facility. In the US, the FDA pversees “dietary supplement " regulations which require manufacturers of herbal supplements to evaluate their products through testing for identity, purity, strength and composition, along with many other regulations regarding processing and facility sanitation. These regulations ensure that the products are consistently safe and of high quality. GMP standards are absolutely essential. The rules apply for both domestic and foreign manufacturers. Some companies are secretive about where their Chinese herbs are manufactured and whether they are GMP compliant. If your herbal supplier is not forthcoming with their factory location or GMP rating, how can you trust anything about their products?

2. Where are the herbs from and are they tested for impurities?

The simple rule is: manufacturer’s that test their herbs disclose this information. Manufacturer’s that don’t test, don’t tell. The FDA regulations for dietary supplements, which include Chinese Herb products, fall under a different set of regulations than those covering "conventional" foods and drug products. At the time of printing of this article, herb manufacturers are not required to disclose this information on their labels. Some countries have much stricter laws regarding Chinese herbal supplements and the best herb companies willingly disclose this information.

#3. Does your supplier use Certificates of Analysis? This is basically a report card for a batch of raw herbs, which certifies the purity, species and potency on that particular batch. Manufacturers who use Certificates of Analysis are at the forefront of herbal medicine. Food processing laws require all processed foods to have batch numbers, processing dates, ingredient verification, etc. Why shouldn’t herbal products be held to the same standard? We ingest these herbs just like any other food product.

A Certificate of Analysis provides a batch number that can be traced to a finished product. Tests, such as HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography), test to ensure that active herbal ingredients are at consistent levels and are performed in high tech laboratories. Another test is Gas Chromatography, which determines levels of insecticides and other contaminants that may be present. Since many plants and roots look alike, TLC, or Thin Layer Chromatograms, are conducted to make sure that the wrong herb species doesn’t end up in the final formula (TLC tests give a chemical fingerprint unique to each species). Serious consequences may result if an herb was incorrectly labeled and that herb species has toxic side effects. Among the best herb manufacturers, only when a raw batch of herbs passes all these tests does the batch move on to the next step of processing. These Certificates of Analysis give the consumer confidence that the herbs are safe for consumption.

Unfortunately, not all manufacturers can disclose this pertinent information. Many are ill equipped for expensive testing, nor do they have a laboratory in place to provide a report card such as a Certificate of Analysis. If you are to truly know whether your herbal supplements are free from heavy metals, pesticides, bugs, dirt, bacteria, and other contaminants, be sure your herbal supplier uses Certificates of Analysis.

#4. There is more important information to find out. For example, how much filler (inert product) is added to your supplements? What is the cooking process and the concentration ratios of your products? Why shouldn’t you cook raw herbs yourself? What is the difference between alcohol extracts, capsule products and liquid plastic packets of herbs? All these questions and more are answered in a free report you can download from the PAC Herbs website.

I hope you’ll be an educated consumer when it comes to purchasing your Chinese herbal medicine supplements.

Thanks to Cathy Margolin for contributing this article to our Ginseng blog:

Cathy Margolin is a Licensed Acupuncturist in CA and has been certified as a Diplomat in Oriental Medicine from the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. She has specialized in Chinese Herbs and her company PACHerbs.com caries high potency herbal products sold in individual packets for freshness. She has visited herb manufacturers in both China and Taiwan and has extensively researched Chinese herb processing. You have full permission to reprint this article provided this box is kept unchanged.

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