Quality Counts

Eyeing Practice Evolution, Fullscript Acquires Emerson

By Erik Goldman

Fullscript CEO Kyle Braatz is on what he calls a “forever” mission: to establish a comprehensive technological infrastructure for the transformation of integrative and functional medicine into simply “medicine.” With the acquisition of its main competitor, Emerson Ecologics, Fullscript has taken a major step toward fulfillment of that mission. The deal, announced in mid-March, will […]

The Phytochemical Equivalency Controversy

By Elan Sudberg, Contributing Writer

Is it truly equivalent? It’s a question currently being applied to chemical compounds, formally known as phytochemicals, that have historically been made exclusively by plants, but are now–through recent advancements in genetic engineering—being manufactured by genetically modified yeasts, or protozoans like euglena. A host of widely used vitamins, amino acids, sweeteners, essential oils, and bioactive […]

Standardization vs Synergy: The Paradoxes Of Botanical Identity Testing

By Elan Sudberg, Contributing Writer

I have a nerdy fascination with the subject of zoopharmacognosy—the study how we humans gained knowledge of which plants are food, which are poison, and which are medicine, by observing the animals around us. Other creatures seem to know what to eat, and what to avoid. Some have figured out ways to self-medicate by chewing […]

New Collaboration Promotes Chromatography for Herb Quality

By Erik Goldman

The American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP) and the American Botanical Council (ABC)—two of the nation’s leading herbal medicine advocacy groups—have joined forces with the International Association for the Advancement of High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC Association) to promote greater consensus and wider use of this important analytical technique. According to an AHP press release announcing […]

The Future of Probiotics

By Erik Goldman

“It’s hard to develop new probiotics. It takes a lot of work, and a lot of expertise,” says Wesley Morovic, leader of the Probiotic Genomics team at IFF, an international ingredient company that owns the Howaru brand of probiotics. From its humble beginnings as an offshoot of dairy production, the probiotics industry has evolved into […]

What Practitioners Need to Know About Botanical Quality Testing

By Elan Sudberg, Contributing Writer

As a kid I grew up in doctors’ offices and labs. It’s not because I was sick. Rather my mother and father both worked there. My mother was a microbiologist who applied those skills to live blood cell analysis and allergy testing, and then later worked in government microbiology labs where she researched models of […]

“We Had To Remain Open”– A Global Supply Giant Affirms Its Core Mission

By Erik Goldman

It is no small feat for a global corporation with 24 offices and production facilities on four different continents to respond effectively to a fast-moving pandemic like COVID-19. For nutritional and pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturer, Lonza, the challenges posed by COVID were a fundamental test of the company’s core mission: “providing solutions that improve quality of […]

Sales Surges & Supply Shortages: Supplement Brands Navigate Choppy Post-COVID Seas

By Kristen Schepker

Dietary supplement sales soared to unprecedented heights this year, owing to the coronavirus pandemic. But as consumer interest spiked, major disruptions to the ingredient supply chain limited the accessibility of many botanical and nutraceutical raw materials, excipients, and packaging materials, creating major sourcing challenges for supplement companies. Peak, Then Plateau A Nutrition Business Journal analysis […]