DNA Testing of Herbal Supplements

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DNA Testing of Herbal Supplements
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Herbal Supplements

• There is a heated debate over the quality of the
  herbal supplements sold in the market.  With
  majority retailers making fraud claims about
  these supplements, it requires stringent rules
  and regulations for their quality control.
• A consumer takes a herbal supplement for its
  purported health benefits, which are attributed
  to the plant source of the product. He knows that
  the herbal supplements are derived from a plant
  source and are, therefore, safe to consume.
• But, thats not the complete truth.

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• The purported benefits of the plant source of
  these supplements are attributed to its
  constituents. In order for these constituents to
  be present in the right amount, the plant should
  be grown in the right environmental conditions
  and processed appropriately.
• Thats why DNA testing becomes important for the
  herbal supplements.
• DNA is the genetic building block of all living
  organisms plants, bacteria, animals and human
  beings.  It is present in every part of an
  organism.

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But, is DNA testing worth it? Can we know
everything about the herbal supplements through
DNA testing?
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• DNA testing helps to authenticate a botanical
  species if it doesnt show the desired botanical
  characteristics or the amount of the material is
  very limited.
• For example, Black Cohosh or Actaea Racemosa is a
  plant native to North America. It differs from
  other species of the genus Actaea found in other
  parts of the world. Black Cohosh is the only
  species with proven health benefits, but there
  are several species outside of North America that
  are often confused with the authentic Black
  Cohosh.
• DNA testing can help to distinguish between North
  American and non-North American species of Black
  Cohosh.

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• However, DNA extracted from a particular plant
  will be the same, whether it is obtained from its
  stem, roots or leaves.
• Thus, we can identify the plant from DNA testing.
  But, we wont know the part of the plant from
  which the DNA was extracted.
• Secondly, DNA testing cant tell us the
  environmental conditions in which the plant is
  grown. So, we cant guarantee whether the plant
  was grown in the right environmental conditions
  or not.

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• Moreover, these herbal supplements are produced
  after extracting the therapeutic compounds from
  the desired plant.
• Solvents like water and alcohol or heat are used
  in this extraction process. This may degrade or
  even destroy the DNA in the extracted material.
• Thus, its possible that when target compounds
  are extracted from their plant source to make a
  herbal ingredient, theres no longer any
  detectable DNA present in the final product. In
  such cases, it becomes difficult to perform DNA
  testing on such products.

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• Here lies the importance of other tests like
  chemical analysis to detect the presence of
  target compounds in herbal supplements. While DNA
  testing is a useful technology to detect the
  presence of the target compound in the
  supplement, it cant determine its quantity. 
• On the other hand, chemical analysis tests help
  to determine the strength of a supplement in a
  quantitative manner.
• That the reason why DNA testing became an
  official technology recognized by US Pharmacopeia
  in December 2014, but it is applied mostly to
  non-extracted plant materials and as a complement
  to other chemical tests.

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So, it can be concluded that DNA testing seems
worthy for herbal testing but not as a
standalone. Other chemical tests are required to
ascertain the safety and efficacy of the herbal
supplements.
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