Herb extracts ingredients transparency

[Guest guest]

On Sat, Aug 1, 2009 at 12:14 PM, Bob Flaws <bob wrote:

 

>

>

> As a group, we shouldn't do business with companies that either do not

> disclose ingredients (and their amounts) or do so dishonestly. This is

> medicine after all. As long as we keep buying from these companies, they

> have no incentive to change.

>

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the information that the USP guidelines on cGMP asks for. If we want

to raise the bar, we really need to get up to speed on these things and do

business with companies that provide this information rather than those that

do not.

 

 

1. Date of expiry ( " beyond use " , " expiration date " , etc.) One of my herb

extract sources only provides a " manufacturing date " which is actually made

up of more digits than I can even decipher. I have a bottle in front of me

" Manufactured on: 0712510 " Sheesh. What is that, a star date?

2. Lot number

3. Strength (you read correctly, we must have those extract ratios for

our records.) cGMP requires compounders to use ingredients of known

identity, quality, strength, and purity. We can use our " professional

judgement " based on " manufacturer's reputation " for some of this, but not

the strength, especially if one purchases herbs from more than one company,

all boasting a different extract ratio (or in the case of some expensive

herbs, no concentration ratio at all.)

4. Documentation that shows that herbs that come from ruminant animals

were born, raised, and slaughtered in countries where bovine spongiform

encephalopathy (BSE) and scrapie are known not to exist. Ruminant animals

include all of our herbs that come from cattle, goats, sheep, bison, water

buffalo, deer and antelope. All of our horns and some of our bone herbs need

to be sourced from countries that have not had those problems. I do not know

which countries have been placed on that list. Herb distributors need to

have access to such data to pass on to us.

5. I would also very much like to see the incipient ( " filler " )

ingredients listed on the label too. I know of an herbalist who is deathly

allergic to corn and corn products. Needless to say, she cannot take too

many herb extract powders for fear that they use corn starch or some other

corn derivitive as their filler. This hidden filler information simply

cannot last.

 

 

Just an FYI, practitioners making formulas for 1-to-1 practitioner/patient

relationships will likely not be held to these standards, at least until

someone dies. Then there will be all sorts of county, state, and federal

agencies getting involved. It is also smart to keep in mind that the larger

the practice, the wider the legal footprint. Best to have one's ducks in a

row before there is any reason to defend against medical negligence.

 

--

, DAOM

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.