The ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program (BAPP) recently published a new laboratory guidance document on St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum), which covers methods used to accurately and adequately test for the identity and authenticity of the herb’s raw material and extracts. The guidance is intended for industry, academic, and regulatory analytical labs.
 
Traditionally, oil made from St. John’s Wort flowers was used to treat burns and other wounds, BAPP reports. Today, its extract preparations are commonly used for mood support. Human clinical trials on standardized extracts to date have been published in support of its safety and efficacy for this purpose, BAPP reports, and, in 2020, dietary supplements containing St. John’s Wort were the 21^st top-selling supplement in mainstream US retail stores, with annual mainstream sales totaling roughly $23.9 million.
 
According to BAPP, some commonly reported forms of adulteration for St. John’s Wort are the undeclared addition of synthetic food dye to increase the appearance of red pigments present in the plant, which can create a false impression about the quality of an ingredient. Additionally, the literature describes cases of substitution with other Hypericum species, however, these are less frequent and may be due to co-harvesting while cultivating the species in the wild. Many companies now use commercially-cultivated St. John’s Wort since wild-collected material is known for high variability in its naturally-occurring constituents.
 
This latest in BAPP’s series of laboratory guidance documents was written by Nilüfer Orhan, PhD, an expert in natural products chemistry and analysis and a former professor of pharmacognosy at Gazi University in Ankara, Turkey. It relies upon 67 published analytical laboratory methods to identify authentic St. John’s Wort herb raw material and extracts and finished products to detect adulteration. It also covers the main advantages and disadvantages of each analytical method, and each method’s suitability in quality control labs. Also included are summaries and a table with chemical compositions of the plant, and 10 potentially cofounding Hypericum species. The document was peer-reviewed by 21 international experts from academia and the herbal dietary supplement industry.
 
“I vividly remember the issue with the food dye adulteration of St. John’s Wort extracts since this was one of the first alerts based on industry data published in BAPP’s ‘Botanical Adulterants Monitor’ newsletter back in 2015. While such food dye adulteration is readily detected by routine chemical analysis methods, the distinction of Hypericum species based on chemical markers is really difficult,” Stefan Gafner, PhD, chief science officer of ABC and technical director of BAPP, said. “Therefore, knowing the value chain (i.e. where, how, and by whom the St. John’s Wort herb is cultivated, collected/harvested, and dried) is crucial to produce a dietary supplement with a reproducible composition.”
 
“The addition of a banned red food dye to materials that are sold as ‘St. John’s Wort Extract’ in order to try to fool some of the analytical methods used in testing laboratories is an egregious practice, and is evidence of actual intent by the producer of the fraudulent material to try to make a profit by victimizing its customer(s),” Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of ABC and founder and director of BAPP, said. “This is why it is so important for BAPP to continue its vital research and educational mission to help ethical, responsible manufacturers of botanical dietary supplements protect themselves from such fraud, and, in the process, help ensure that consumers are able to purchase authentic botanical preparations that are safe and beneficial for their intended use. BAPP LGDs help industry quality control laboratories by showing them which analytical methods do or don’t work to detect various types of documented adulteration.”