The Federal Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST ) has issued the inceptive assembly of Standard Reference Materials ( SRMs ) agency a planned series of reference materials for botanical dietary supplements.
The dietary addition industry has exploded effect the preceding decade to about 29, 000 wares, cache about 1, 000 dewy commodities introduced each ticks, according to the Edible and Drug Administration ( FDA ). Spell 2001 NIST began working lie low the FDA and the Federal Institutes of Health ' s Office of Dietary Supplements ( NIH / ODS ) on a series of SRMs of popular botanical dietary supplements. Manufacturers pledge convenience these materials for superiority might, and researchers burden handling them to make sure that their laboratory analyses of supplements are accurate. Products homologous over botanical supplements, that hold been derived from extracts of plant materials are ball-buster to analyze accurately being of their convoluted sample matrices.
The topical NIST reference materials were designed primarily for grade government of supplements containing ephedra, a plant once widely used supremacy herbal weight - loss merchandise. Ephedra produce were pulled from the market by the FDA prominence 2004 following being linked to cardiovascular problems, but the unfamiliar investigation materials keep up helpful both to cinch that latest lines are not adulterated stifle ephedra and in that they and boundness personify used to ameliorate several other explanation measurements control other botanical supplements, including concentrations of potentially toxic heavy metals.
The modern reference materials body several contrastive forms of ephedra and hold powdered plant material ( SRM 3240 ), a ground solid uttered dosage scheme ( SRM 3243 ), and a protein powder ( SRM 3244 ). The materials are certified for their concentrations of the ephedrine alkaloids and potentially toxic elements ( including arsenic, cadmium, bob and mercury ). SRM 3243 also provides certified values for synephrine ( a compound hold some of the " ephedra - costless " weight - loss lines ) and caffeine. SRM 3244 adds values for caffeine, theobromin, theophylline, and nutrients including fat, protein, carbohydrate, different fatty acids and amino acids, vitamins and nutritive elements.