The revolution in innovation in plant active ingredients

In the dietary supplements industry, many innovations are not just for new products on the shelf, for example, in the past few years, industry participants have paid more attention to the source of ingredients for products and the production process of products., the innovation goal of the dietary supplements industry is no longer to hit new market segments with one or two popular new products, but to promote traceability and transparency throughout the supply chain. In recent years, they have become the focus of industry innovation. There are also individual brands that offer compelling ideas about how they apply these concepts in their supply chains.Supply chain innovation for plant-based ingredientsefforts by the industry include supply chain validation procedures developed by the American Association of Herbal Products
AHPA
). In addition, the University of Guelve in Ontario is working to establish a set of best practices and references for the use of
DNA
in plant composition identification. The
Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program
, a consortium, is developing a mechanism to ensure that substandard or adulterated plant ingredients are not sold to other customers after they are rejected by customers.
Wilson
, director of development for the AHPA
program, said the association found itself in a special position a few years ago, when the plant dietary supplement industry was being hit by an investigation by New York Attorney General
Eric Schneiderman
. The storm has left several retailers with a lot of blame, but they have also taken on the task of re-activating the industry.
GNC
is an important part of this, as
DNA
tests are said to show that
GNC
's plant supplements contain little or no of its alleged plant activity.in the initial investigation, many people believed that the
DNA
testing process itself was questionable, and that
Eric Schneiderman
's office did not disclose the process. But the event, while traumatic for the industry, has had a positive effect, with the so-called

shamed and then brave , which has made plant supplement brands aware of the potential risks in their product supply chains and rekindled their passions.the
GNC
and
Schneiderman
reached a quick agreement that included documentation for plant
GMP to quickly
partners. Much of this document comes from the early work of the
AHPA
, which developed the good agricultural collection practice guide
Good Agricultural Practices
, which was released a few years ago.
AHPA
finally agreed
GNC
to
and
GMP program.Wilson
that
GACP
documents have been in the process for some years, and the benefit of combining
GACP/GMP
documents is to help the industry understand some of the intersections between these industry needs and regulations.it is understood that in addition to helping suppliers comply with what
GNC
is looking for, including appropriate
DNA
testing, the document will also help them explore a new world in the
FSMA
(Food Safety Modernization Act). The file will help them connect these points, including easy-to-use forms that allow businesses to determine their compliance.DNA
EngineeringSteven Newmaster
, a professor in the Department of Integrated Biology at Guelve University, has led a multidimensional project to establish best practices for
DNA
testing within the dietary supplement industry. The project is understood to include three aspects: the establishment of a reference
DNA
sample bank, the study of
DNA
information in plant extracts, and the development and validation of a handheld device that accelerates the identification of
DNA
in the supply chain.Newmaster
revealed that a significant number of industry leaders have joined the research alliance and are working to validate the samples and sequences by building a
DNA
database from specimens from raw material manufacturers. It is reported that Naturax is also one of the sponsors, the researchers from their farm to obtain direct scientific research materials.most exciting and influential aspect of this work is handheld devices, which will greatly accelerate the use of technology in this area. The most important of these is that in the machine's data box, references are available to match the
DNA
information in a large number of foreign raw materials (a process that has also been simplified).species tested on a machine will have a tool available for purchase. The research team is working
usP
to validate each kit. Their plan is to provide
20
for the most common species by the second quarter of this year; It is understood that about
70,
species in the industry account for about
70% of
's merchandise trade, and the ultimate goal of
Newmaster
is to provide kits for all these species. In addition, there are at least
,
species in plant dietary supplements, and
DNA
testing of these species will still require access to external laboratories.the third innovation of Nonconforming Raw Materials
SOP is the Standard Operating Procedure (
SOP
) for Nonconforming Raw Materials, a plant ingredient doping prevention program jointly implemented by the U.S. Plant Commission (
ABC
), the U.S. Pharmacopeia, and the National Center for Natural Product Research at the University of Mississippi.
Blumenthal
, founder and executive director of ABC
, said the goal of the project was to work to improve the industry's bottom line by clearly ating that nonconforming or adulterated material would no longer be tolerated. , this has been one of the industry's secrets, and the substandard ingredients never really disappear, but are rejected and then turned around until someone is willing to accept it. Blumenthal stressed
not a safety issue - there
no
evidence that these substandard materials pose a health risk. But they do represent fraud, because diluted or adulterated ingredients do not have advertised health benefits. Although there are no real figures and the exact frequency of such incidents is not known, it is clear that adulteration does exist. Blumenthal
the project is currently
the wording
SOP's data to embed it in supply contracts. This is a delicate undertaking because of the financial risks involved. The basic idea is that if an unqualified raw material appears and is identified, it will be processed rather than returned. Suppliers are not paid for this. it is understood
Blumentha
is currently working with a legal committee of several experienced food and drug lawyers to make the new rules as inclusive as possible, but also as fair as possible. 's organizing committee will focus on what they call irrecigable defective raw materials, which are either completely unreponsive, mislabeled, adulterated with other, lower-cost, similar ingredients, or subjected to some inevitable contamination. In fact, no raw material that can be adequately remedied can meet U.S. state and federal regulations.