Black Cohosh Adulteration. What you should know

Issues of Black cohosh adulteration in products

Since the beginning of our journey in building VIVACA® we strongly believed (and still do) the only option for us to build VIVACA® properly is to ensure herb quality and authenticity and the only way to do that is to have North American growers produce them. What’s the big deal about that you ask?

Here is one example.  Over the last several years there have been reports of people getting sick on black cohosh to the point where the government regulatory bodies investigated the problem back in 2008.  Several surprising results revealed what was supposed to be Black cohosh (“Actea racemosa, Cimicifuga racemosa”) was in fact not authentic Black cohosh but instead, similar species of Black cohosh such as (“Cimicifuga romose,” Cimicifuga foetida, and Vernonia aspera”).  Incorrect plant identification, poor analytical testing as well as not following good manufacturing practices are often the cause of this resulting in products that do not contain what they claim on their labels, they don’t work and they can become health risks.

We conduct comprehensive analysis of each of our herbs.  Each herb is tested a minimum of four times during the stages of development.  This testing is done through an approved, credible laboratory that knows their business in herbs.  In addition we conduct our processing under GMP’s, ‘Good Manufacturing Practices’.

It is important to learn about these issues to help you better understand natural health products and what you should be looking for when purchasing them.

The American Botanical Association is a reputable top-notch organization often used by the government to get down to the bottom of these issues.  In addition the association provides an excellent resource of information for the industry, government regulatory bodies and for consumers.   The American Botanical Association discusses the adulteration of Black Cohosh, a important read.

http://www.nutritionaloutlook.com/news/black-cohosh-adulteration-focus-new-report