NIST Issues Standard Reference Materials

NIST Issues Standard Reference Materials

GAITHERSBURG, Md. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issued the first suite of standard reference materials (SRMs) in a planned series of reference materials for botanical dietary supplements. NIST (www.nist.gov/srm) began working with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institutes of Healths(NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) in 2001 on a series of SRMs for popular botanicals. Manufacturers can use the materials for quality control, and researchers can use them to ensure laboratory analyses of supplements are accurate. The new SRMs were designed primarily for quality control of supplements containing ephedra and include powdered plant material, a ground solid oral dosage form and a protein powder. The materials are certified for concentrations of ephedrine alkaloids and potentially toxic elements. Future SRMs will include bitter orange, blueberries, carrot extract, cranberries, Ginkgo biloba, green tea, saw palmetto and St. Johns wort.