On Dec. 19, NOW Health Group (Bloomingdale, IL) once again identified quality failing through its testing system.
In the most recent round of testing, NOW said it examined more than 30 berberine products from “no name” brands sold on both Amazon and Walmart. Berberine is one of the highest trending dietary supplements on social media so there is a rise in deceptive sellers wanting to cash in on inferior or adulterated products, the company said.
Since 2017, NOW has been conducting an industry self-policing of unfamiliar product brands found on Amazon and later at Walmart.com.
“We purchased two bottles of each product from 33 brands, including NOW, sold on both Amazon and Walmart.com,” said Dan Richard, vice president of global sales and marketing for NOW. “It was obvious even before testing that many brands were fraudulently mislabeling potency on the front label panel and many others had suspiciously high claims.”
Berberine is a yellow-colored alkaloid extracted from various plants such as barberry and Oregon grape roots. It is often made in hydrochloride (HCl) form which is derived from Berberis aristata bark extract at 85 to 90 percent potency, according to NOW.
“This means if brands claim 500 mg berberine on a label and it is in the HCl form, the supplier must input 550-575 mg berberine HCl dihydrate to meet the label claim,” NOW said in a statement. “Some brands claim ‘berberine’ in the supplement facts panel for potency, while others list ‘berberine HCl.’ While both are technically legal, full disclosure would list like: ‘berberine HCl 500 mg (from 550 mg berberine HCl dihydrate).'”
Each brand was tested through high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet light, which is also used to quantify the amount of berberine hydrochloride in the samples, according to NOW.
NOW also sent one unopened bottle of each brand to Alkemist Labs to provide an independent report on the same products. Both companies tested the products using HPLC technology.
Some of the results include:
- All of the products were purchased from Amazon and Walmart in early November 2023. The chosen brands are relatively unknown and sold almost exclusively on these platforms.
- Every brand tested below 100 percent potency except for NOW. Seven brands contains 80 percent potency and three brands contained 90-97 percent potency.
- 18 of the 33 brands contained less than 40 percent of labeled potency.
- Seven of the products have 1 percent or less of berberine potency.
The full report can be viewed on NOW’s website.
