Report Examines Black Cohosh Adulteration

AUSTIN, TexasA new report published in HerbalGram examines the concerning facets of black cohosh adulteration, a topic of increasing interest during the past 60 years.

The report examines issues related to black cohosh's confusing nomenclature, market economics, history of alleged liver toxicity, possibly associated with the adulterants, and analytical tests available to ensure correct identity of black cohosh.

Black cohosh is often used to treat symptoms of menopause and other female reproductive health conditions, which have been supported by published clinical trials. In the United States, it is unlawful for any herb other than Actaea racemosa to be sold as black cohosh, and to apply the name black cohosh" to any other species results in misbranding of the finished product. This product is considered adulterated under the law.

In 2002, reports of alleged liver toxicity related to black cohosh appeared. According to the HerbalGram report, adulteration of black cohosh with other plant species may be partly to blame for those incidents because later analyses found the association of true black cohosh and liver disease has a weak or uncertain causal link.

Author Steven Foster outlines a number of laboratory authentication methods in the report, including various types of chemical testing and the more recently developed DNA fingerprinting. It also cites the American Herbal Pharmacopoeias (AHP) 2002 black cohosh rhizome monograph, a comprehensive resource on known adulterants that includes botanical, microscopic and chemical analyses of black cohosh.

"This issue of black cohosh adulteration is not new," said AHP executive director Roy Upton, editor of the AHP Black Cohosh Rhizome monograph. "The black cohosh monographs of AHP and the U.S. Pharmacopeia, as well as a number of analytical papers published the past few years, provide the primary tools needed by industry to develop appropriate specifications and implement the necessary quality control processes to keep adulterated materials from entering into the consumer product market."

 This black cohosh adulteration report contains several tables and 91 references, and it is the fifth article in the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program series.

Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of the American Botanical Council (ABC), and editor-in-chief of HerbalGram, said the purpose of the program involves educating the botanical dietary supplement industry on the presence of adulterants within the global supply chain.

"This helps manufacturers ensure that they detect adulterated material so that their products contain properly identified, authenticated herbal raw materials and extracts," Blumenthal said. "Ultimately, this programs vision is that consumers will have access to more reliable dietary supplements and related herbal products."

FDA's Dietary Supplement Division Director Dan Fabricant discussed the agency's view of adulteration at the 2013 SupplySide MarketPlace in New York.