Third Party Testing

Every batch of every product is sent out for analysis and verified by an independent third party laboratory both quantitatively (purity) and qualitatively (identity) as well as for contaminants. A list of testing techniques we used and a brief explanation of each is listed below:

HPLC – Purity & Identification

High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is the method by which most products are tested for purity. This method is utilized when there is a single molecule or class of molecules that can be assayed for. HPLC relies on pumps to pass a pressurized liquid and a sample mixture through a column filled with adsorbent, leading to the separation of the sample components based on the strength of their attraction to the adsorbent, after which they are analyzed by shining light on the separate sample components as they come off the column.

Most organic compounds absorb a certain amount of light, so as they pass by the applied light beam, a detector can pick up how much light is absorbed. The detector also records the components’ retention time based on the order in which they come off the column. This output can then be analyzed based on peak area to determine the exact nature of the sample’s components or fed into another analytical machine for additional analysis as in the case of LC-MS.

NMR Spectroscopy – Structure & Identification

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR) is a spectroscopic technique to observe local magnetic fields around atomic nuclei. As the fields are unique or highly characteristic to individual compounds, in modern organic chemistry practice, NMR spectroscopy is the definitive method to identify monomolecular organic compounds.

Samples are placed in a magnetic field and the NMR signal is produced by excitation of the nuclei sample with radio waves into nuclear magnetic resonance, which is detected with sensitive radio receivers. The intramolecular magnetic field around an atom in a molecule changes the resonance frequency, thus giving access to details of the electronic structure of a molecule and its individual functional groups.

TLC – Purity & Identification

Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC) is a chromatography technique used to separate non-volatile mixtures. We use this method for plant extracts made up of many different compounds. TLC is essentially a rudimentary 2-dimensional flash chromatography, except the mobile phase travels up a plate via capillary action instead of down a column. TLC is performed on a sheet of glass, plastic, or aluminium foil, which is coated with a thin layer of adsorbent material, usually silica gel, aluminium oxide (alumina), or cellulose. This layer of adsorbent is known as the stationary phase.

Thin-layer chromatography can be used to monitor the progress of a reaction, identify compounds present in a given mixture, and determine the purity of a substance.

ICP-MS – Heavy Metal Testing

Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a type of mass spectrometry which is capable of detecting metals and several non-metals at concentrations as low as one part in 1015 (part per quadrillion, ppq) on non-interfered low-background isotopes. This is achieved by ionizing the sample with inductively coupled plasma and then using a mass spectrometer to separate and quantify those ions. We use this technique to test for toxic heavy metal contamination. All products undergo this test, specifically for arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead.

Microbiology Panel – Contaminant Testing

The microbiology panel involves ensuring products are below acceptable limits for common and dangerous microbes by culturing samples with growth media for pathogenic species. All products that are extracts of biological entities undergo this panel. The tests included in the panel are the Total Aerobic Plate Count, Yeast; Mold Count, E. Coli presence, S. Aureus presence, and Salmonella presence.

GC-MS – Contaminant Testing

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is an analytical method that combines the features of gas-chromatography and mass spectrometry to identify different substances within a mixed test sample. Applications of GC-MS include drug detection, fire investigation, environmental analysis, explosives investigation, and identification of unknown samples. GC-MS has been regarded as a “gold standard” for forensic substance identification because it is used to perform a 100% specific test, which positively identifies the presence of a particular substance. A nonspecific test merely indicates that any of several in a category of substances is present. Although a nonspecific test could statistically suggest the identity of the substance, this could lead to false positive identification.

We use GC-MS to test for residual solvents, pesticides and other contaminants in plant extracts.