A news magazine in 2001 revealed over 2900 adverse events requiring medical care which were attributed to herbs the previous year. In addition, 104 deaths were attributed primarily to ephedra, St. John’s Wort, gingko, and ginseng (10). In 2003 the FDA removed Ephedra and Ma Huang (Ephedra sinica) from the market due to 155 deaths […]

Medicinal botanicals used in cosmeceuticals are considered food additives or dietary supplements by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which declared them as safe. The herbs are allowed to be marketed to consumers directly without obtaining drug status or restricted by FDA’s over-the-counter monograph requirements. Thus, no standards of herbal potency, concentration in […]

Botanicals must undergo a significant amount of processing prior to incorporation into a cosmeceutical which usually significantly affects the biologic activity of the herb. The most important factor for biologic activity is the source of the plant material because each plant part may contain hundreds of different chemicals, ions and molecules. Growing conditions including soil […]

Carl Thornfeldt Episciences, Inc., Boise, and CT Derm, Fruitland, Idaho, and Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon, U. S.A. BACKGROUND Botanicals used for medicinal, flavoring, or fragrances are known as herbs (1,2). The guiding principle of herbal medicine is the naturally occurring mixture of active compounds in plants is more effective and safer than individual […]

Just because an ingredient is plant-derived doesn’t mean it is safe. Just ask Socrates! Poisons such as strychnine come from plants (Strychnos nux-vomica L. and other Strychnos spp.). And potent allergens, such as the heptadecylcatechols from poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) and pentadecylcatedchols from poison ivy (T. radicans) are also plant derived (26). Many plant extracts […]

Quality concerns will differ depending on the particular plant or extract. The typical types of properties that are used to determine the quality or batch to batch consistency of a botanical ingredient would include: appearance, color, odor, botanical characteristics (for plant material), microbial count, pH, residue on evaporation or loss on drying, total ash, acid-insoluble […]

An extract that has been purified or formulated to contain a consistent, measurable quantity of a target compound (or sometimes class of compounds) in every batch, is referred to as “standardized.” The level of the compound is guaranteed to be within a certain range or above a certain minimum in every batch or lot of […]

Extracts that are designed specifically for cosmetic products come in many forms. They are usually liquid extracts in a cosmetically friendly solvent or solvent blend such as water, butylene glycol, glycerin, vegetable oil, or cosmetic ester. Some of them are standardized to a marker compound, but many are not. Many non-standardized extracts are designed simply […]

There are several things to consider when harvesting plants for extraction. Firstly, the plant material harvested should come from healthy, disease-free plants. The plant material is typically air-dried in arid regions or oven-dried in humid regions (to avoid mold) to a moisture content of < 10%. The plant material is then ground or milled to […]