NIH Renews Contract with AOAC

BETHESDA, Md.—The National Institutes of Health (NIH), with FDA oversight, renewed its contract with AOAC International to determine validated testing methods for turmeric, black cohosh, and vitamins B6 and B12. Under a previous NIH contract, AOAC assembled a network of experts to identify the best methods for development and validation of some 15 dietary supplement ingredients; the same network will study these additional ingredients of interest.

As part of the new contract, AOAC is issuing an urgent call for validated methods for turmeric (curcuminoids), black cohosh (phenolic acids, glycosides), B6 and B12. Methods should be submitted by Nov. 1, 2008. These ingredients were prioritized for study by AOAC’s Presidential Task Force on Dietary Supplements’ Ingredients Ranking Subgroup because of the lack of validated methods for both their raw materials and finished products for dietary supplements. Dietary supplement ingredients are ranked in order of priority for methods validation, and source of funding is a major driving factor in decisions.

For more information, contact Bob Rathbone, AOAC’s senior director of publications and method validation, at [email protected].