Spiking Is A Growing, But Detectable, Problem

Spiking Is A Growing, But Detectable, Problem
by Robert S. Green

There is a problem in the nutritional supplement industry and to some extent we askedfor it. Rather than looking at botanicals as complex substances, we now focus on onecomponent. For example, in an effort to legitimize the industry, we moved forward with thestandardization of many products based on one marker compound. As a result of thissingular focus, the sole measurement of quality has become the marker level. As long asyour St. John's wort, for example, contains .03 percent hypericin, it's deemed "firstrate." Next, we go one step further and state that the industry will be served byadopting quality control standards specifying not only that the level of one analyte issufficient but the exact method by which that analyte will be tested. So now everyoneknows what we look for and how we look for it. Many companies go even further and assumethat the higher the content of one component, the better the product.

In an industry of creative individuals, it didn't take long for some unscrupulous soulsto think they could take inexpensive botanicals and add the correct amount of markercompound to pass it off as the more expensive product, commanding a premium price. Or thatadding high-potency synthetic compounds could allow them to use less of a more expensivebotanical. This is the origin of the problem of product fortification and spiking.Technically, fortification refers to increasing the amount of compound already present,while spiking is adding a compound not initially found. However, the term"spiking" is now used to refer to all cases where a desired compound is added toa product.

While this problem can be seen in many products, it most frequently occurs with thecaffeine level in natural guarana. We can examine the guarana spiking issue to describethe ways in which products are fortified and/or spiked, and how it can be detected.

Guarana is a plant that naturally contains high (3% to 6% wt/wt) levels of caffeine(and other xanthine alkaloids such as theobromine and theophyline) compared to othertraditional caffeine-containing plant species such as coffee, tea, yerba and kola. Assuch, it is extensively used as a natural source of caffeine.

There is, however, a vast quantity of pure, natural caffeine from another source: thatwhich is generated from the coffee decaffeination process. Coffee contains approximately1% to 2% wt/wt caffeine. Decaffeination is achieved by moderately heating coffee beansunder a reasonable vacuum. The sublimed caffeine (caffeine that is converted from a solidto a gas) is collected in crystalline form. This crystallized caffeine is readilyavailable and cheap. Caffeine can also be synthesized, but the process involves numerousorganic reactions and is
very expensive.

The natural caffeine levels of natural substances such as guarana can be altered in anumber of ways. First, the caffeine level can be increased through a process of extractionand concentration. The natural guarana is soaked in aqueous acidic alcohol to dissolve thecaffeine and other naturally occurring alkaloids. This solution is then reduced and mixedwith maltodextran and then spray dried. The final product has caffeine levels up to 30 or40 percent, depending on how much natural product is used to produce the solution prior tospray drying. This is the traditional process used to produce guarana extract and is anaccepted industry practice. It is effective and results in a homogeneous product; but itis expensive because it requires the use of many kilos of the natural whole plant toobtain one kilo of extract.

The second way is through fortification, which is simply taking a caffeine-containingproduct and adding caffeine from a different natural source, usually that collected fromthe coffee decaffeination process. In this example, the caffeine from coffee would beadded to the finished, spray dried guarana powder, thereby amplifying the effectivecaffeine level. This method is the most common because it is easy and inexpensive. It isalso the easiest to detect. The resulting product is not a single homogenous product andcan be detected by close examination under a microscope using plane polarized light, whichis optically altered in the presence of crystalline matter (the added caffeine). In fact,an experienced eye can detect this form of fortification by merely looking closely at thesample.

Third, we have a combination of fortification, extraction and concentration. Here thenatural guarana alkaloid concentrate liquid obtained in the extract process describedabove is combined with the pure caffeine obtained from the coffee decaffeination process.The resulting solution is then mixed with maltodextran and spray dried. This product willhave a higher caffeine content per unit of guarana than either the natural guarana orguarana subjected simply to extraction and concentration. This process results in a singlehomogenous product and therefore cannot be observed through examination under themicroscope. However, it can still be detected because of the unusually high level ofcaffeine and the unusual ratios between the caffeine and the other xanthine alkaloids.

Then we have outright spiking, which is adding pure caffeine to anon-caffeine-containing botanical or other substance and processing it by any of the abovemethods. It can be detected by the absence of other naturally occurring xanthinealkaloids.

Of course, one can add a synthetic version of the desired natural marker with any ofthe above methods. It can be detected in the same manner as set forth above under eachrespective process with one addition--generally the marker looks "too good" inthe analytical data collected because synthetic versions are much purer than their naturalcounterparts. In our guarana example, due to economic limitations, it is highly unlikelythat synthetic caffeine is used, but this is not the case with other products, such as mahuang, into which synthetic ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are sometimes added.

The problem of fortification and spiking has been in the news of late. In October 1999,a federal grand jury indicted a Colorado manufacturer for fortifying a product withephedrine hydrochloride (in lieu of natural ephedrine from ma huang) and caffeineanhydrous (in lieu of natural caffeine from kola nut). In another development, the TexasBoard of Health issued rules banning the sale of products containing synthetic ephedrinegroup alkaloids.

There are lessons to be learned on this issue. If you are considering spiking, don't.Qualified personnel can detect spiking during routine analysis with no additional work orexpense. You will likely be caught and the penalties for spiking are severe. Analyticallabs must also learn that we owe it to our clients to diligently review the analyticaldata we collect to detect spiking. The proof is there, so we must pay attention to it. Andfor suppliers and manufacturers, have your products tested by a qualified laboratory tomake sure you are not unwittingly involved in a scheme to defraud.

Spiking is an industry problem that can and must be eliminated by industry diligence.

Robert S. Green is the president of Integrated Biomolecule Corp.; www.integratedbiomolecule.com.