Botanical Integrity

Publication Series on Botanical Integrity

This series encompasses peer-reviewed articles published in Herbal Gram starting in 2015. The aims of the Botanical Integrity Column are as follows:

• To explain why Botanical Integrity is key in the achievement of reproducibility in basic and clinical botanical research.
• To show that scientific rigor is crucial to the establishment of Botanical Integrity.
• To rationalize the term Botanical Integrity and demonstrate that Botanical Integrity represents a multi-layer model in which each layer is contributes important cumulative evidence.
• To show that Botanical Integrity is a requirement for establishing the safe and efficacious use of botanical products.

Part 2 - Botanical Integrity
Simmler C, Chen S-N, Phansalkar R.; Sojarto DD, Lankin DC, Krause E., Nikolic D, van Breeman RB, Dietz B.; Bolton JL, Pauli GF
Botanical Integrity: Part 2. Traditional and Holistic Modern Analytical Approaches
Herbal Gram, 112, 60-64, 2016

Abstract: As introduced in our inaugural article (HerbalGram 2015, issue 106), 1 the concept of Botanical Integrity (BI) includes the determination of identity, homogeneity, biological potency, and safety of plant-derived materials designated for human consumption, and thus goes beyond previously established principles of quality control. The previous article also established that three major domains of expertise are required to assess BI (as noted in Figure 1): botanical examination (Botany), phytochemical analysis (Chemistry), as well as biological and safety assessments (Bioactivity).

Part 1 - Botanical Integrity
Simmler C, Chen S-N, Jeff A, Lankin DC, Phansalkar R, Krause E, Dietz B, L. BJ, Nikolic D, van Breeman RB, Pauli GF.
Botanical Integrity: The Importance of the Integration of Chemical, Biological, and Botanical Analyses, and the Role of DNA Barcoding.
Herbal Gram, 106, 56-58, 2015

Abstract: Raw materials, ingredients, and products derived from plants are commonly referred to as herbs or botanicals in both the biomedical literature and the natural products health industry. This overarching term includes the breadth of crude herbs, plant parts, and the ingredients made from them, and also covers finished products such as botanical dietary supplements. Botanical dietary supplements are intended to supplement the human diet and are composed primarily of powdered plant parts, their extracts, or other preparations derived from crude herbal material; some formulations include other ingredients such as vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Botanical dietary supplements are highly complex mixtures reflecting the diverse chemical constituents that comprise the source plant’s raw material. Botanical analysis is an intricate analytical challenge requiring specialized skills and instrumentation that is different from those required for quality control of chemically simpler pharmaceuticals, or for the safety assessment of many conventional food or other products that are generally regarded as safe (GRAS).