We told you
a couple weeks ago
about bad ginkgo
biloba dominating
the supply chain.
Alas, four
separate tests of
raw materials from
reputable suppliers
failed, so Stephen
rolled up his
sleeves and did some
interrogations, er,
I mean
investigations.
I must say, when
something perturbs
Stephen, watch out!
He’s like a dog with
a bone, he won’t let
go. In this case,
Stephen wanted
guarantees of purity
and potency. He was
particularly
disturbed when one
supplier just
laughed and said a
troubling, “good
luck” to Stephen’s
requirements.
Never one to give
up, Stephen
remembered reading
about a company last
fall with high
quality standards
and a particularly
good reputation for
quality ginkgo.
You see, ginkgo
adulteration
incidences have only
increased in the
last decade.
High-grade ginkgo
extract is
expensive, complex
to manufacture, in
high demand, and
thus often diluted
and adulterated with
either additional
ginkgo leaf or
inexpensive
flavonoids to keep
manufacturing costs
down (and profits
up, albeit on the
sly).
The problem with
added loose ginkgo
leaf comes with
additional heavy
metals concentrated
in ginkgo leaves,
totally
counterproductive
when trying to
improve cognitive
function. The
problem with added
flavonoids of
unidentified origin
is that they may be
valuable but not in
the ways that
clinical studies
have pointed to for
standardized ginkgo
extracts.
For those of you
who like to know the
numbers,
manufacturers can
save up to 50% on
ginkgo extract costs
by adulteration of
their raw materials!
In the competitive
raw materials
business, even very
small differences in
pricing on materials
can make or break a
deal, hence the
incentive to cheat.
And, the numbers
have been
underscoring
adulteration when it
comes to testing.
In 1999,
ConsumerLab began
testing ginkgo for
the standard 24%
flavonol glycoside
and 6% terpene
lactone content. Of
the 32 ginkgo
products, 25 passed
the content test. At
almost 75 percent,
the pass rate was
considered pretty
good, especially for
a newer product and
an herbal that is
subject to variation
in nature.
Testing conducted
in 2003 generated
the opposite
result—about 75
percent of ginkgo
products failed.
And, the situation
has steadily gotten
worse.
So fair members,
while we're glad to
find a new supplier
with a stand for
quality that seems
to equal our own, we
will remain out of
stock of our Ginkgo
Biloba Extract until
our latest test
result comes back.
If all goes well,
we’ll have Gingko
Biloba Extract back
in stock in a few
weeks. Stay tuned!
Cautionary Note
-- If You Buy Ginkgo
Elsewhere:
We’re paying more
for a guarantee of
quality ginkgo
biloba and we’ll
always do our best
to bring you quality
at great prices, but
quality still comes
at a cost.
Fair members,
beware if you are
tempted to buy
ginkgo elsewhere or
try too hard to find
the best price on
ginkgo. Raw
materials suppliers
with exceptional
reputations have
also failed our
independent lab
testing program.
And, our
independent lab
testing director has
seen many, many
ginkgo tests fail
too, so it’s not
just our supply
chain but something
that has become
endemic in the
industry, alas.
You Can Still
Save 20% on Orders
with Ginkgo Biloba—We
Will Ship When Our
New Stock Arrives
We will honor our
20% off sale on
Ginkgo Biloba
so you can go ahead
and order now.
Just remember
that all orders
containing Ginkgo
Biloba will not ship
until our new stock
has arrived.
