Subpar supplements: Research reveals substantial adulteration in popular botanicals

12 Sep 2024 — The Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program (BAPP) from the American Botanical Council (ABC) reveals adulteration rates of between 16.5% and 56.7% for five botanicals in a new review of 78 publications and 2,995 samples. The authors caution that reliable data on adulteration in botanical supplements and herbal medicine is lacking. 

Adulteration was highest in ginkgo leaf extract samples (56.7%), followed by powdered plant materials or extracts of black cohosh root or rhizome (42.2%), echinacea root or herb (28.5%), elderberry (17.1%) and turmeric rhizome (16.5%). The study includes the most samples for turmeric (1,247), elderberry (695) and ginkgo leaf extract (533).