Herbal Reference Substances are Key to Everyday Products

When it comes to quality control testing and the development of new products, Botanical Reference Materials (BRMs), also known as Herbal References are critically important. To help companies ultimately obtain all-important FDA approval, the Food and Drug Administration provides in its guidance a recommendation that high quality reference substances be used in testing.

In addition to their use in development of new products, herbal reference substances are also of key importance for use in routine quality control testing of existing products.

There are a number of companies who specialize in the production and supply of quality herbal reference substances to companies, research departments and government agencies.

For more than 30 years, Extrasynthese has been a leading name in the production of these natural substances. They have used their advanced extraction, synthesis, purification and analytical technologies to developed a catalog of hundreds phytochemical standards.

These polyphenols, carotenoids, terpenes, alkaloids, lipids, oligosaccharides are being used as reference materials for regulatory filing and quality testing or as substrates for early-stage research and development.

An independent company, Extrasynthese was first established in 1986 in the Lyon area. This is one of the most dynamic cities in France when it comes to the field of Life Sciences.

The company’s customers cover a wide array including: phytochemistry, biology, pharmacognosy, metabolomics, agronomy, crop protection, nutraceuticals, nutrition, food and feed, flavour and fragrance, cosmetics, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals. 

These companies produce the products that we all use throughout our lives every day. Without herbal reference substances of a high quality, the safe production of those products would simply not be possible.

The testing and quality control enabled by these substances ensures that the end products are safe and effective. This makes life better for all of us in a number of ways.