Two New Reference Materials Assist Supplement Manufacturers and Testing Labs with Measurements of Marker Constituents in Eleuthero

Eleuthero is a plant whose stem and roots have been used in traditional medicine across Asia for centuries. It is a popular herbal supplement packed with eleutherosides and isofraxidin, which are reputed to help stress management and physical endurance.

To ensure consumer safety and label accuracy, dietary supplement manufacturers must meet the federal requirement to characterize both the chemical composition of ingredients (raw materials such as roots and leaves) and finished products. NIST has issued two eleuthero reference materials to aid manufacturers and testing laboratories in validating eleutherosides and isofraxidin measurements.

RM 8662 consists of eleuthero ground stems, and RM 8663 is made of a more concentrated extract powder. The materials for production of these reference materials were obtained through Modern Nutrition and Biotech (Ridgefield, CT) then transferred to High-Purity Standards (Charleston, SC) to be blended, aliquoted, and heat-sealed inside nitrogen-flushed bags. NIST measured the mass fractions of eleutherosides and isofraxidin using liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Additionally, because heavy metal contamination in dietary supplements is a critical health concern, NIST used inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to measure the lead content in these materials.

A unit of RM 8662 consists of five packets, each containing approximately 3 g of eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus) ground stems. A unit of RM 8663 consists of five packets, each containing approximately 1 g of eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus) ground stems extract powder.