Video: DNA tests reliable for raw botanicals, but not extracts

DNA testing is a reliable test method for raw botanical materials, according to Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director, American Botanical Council (ABC), but it has serious limitations when it comes to validating the identity of botanical extracts, especially when it’s used alone.

This may be why the New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman found only 21% of botanical products his office tested for DNA matched the labels.

This is a view Blumenthal has expressed several times, including in an USP video that Matt Mittenthal, press secretary for Attorney General Schneiderman, tweeted at the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN). In the USP video, Blumenthal explains that DNA testing is a good method to test botanicals, as long as it’s used in conjunction with other assays.

In this Natural Products Insider video, Blumenthal reiterates the limitations of using DNA testing alone, as well as explains why the Attorney General’s office may have found DNA from other plant components in the products and what next steps industry should take.