The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) and American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP) held a two-day workshop, “Botanical, macroscopic and organoleptic assessment of herbal ingredients for cGMP (current good manufacturing practice) compliance” on June 15-16 at Portland State University in Oregon. The hands-on workshop provided a detailed orientation of botanical, macroscopic, and organoleptic identification methods; quality assessment techniques and terminology; and demonstrated how these techniques are used to evaluate crude plant parts in a scientifically valid manner.

Moderated by AHPA Chief Science Officer Maged Sharaf, PhD, the workshop presenters were Herbalist and AHP Executive Director Roy Upton RH, DipAyu, and Steven Yeager, a botanist and laboratory manager for Mountain Rose Herbs.

Attendees received instruction and hands-on experience using classical botany to identify plant materials. AHPA and AHP also instructed attendees on macroscopic and organoleptic analysis, which are among the most rapid, accurate, cost-effective, and environmentally sound of all analytical identification methods. Discussions were accompanied by practical instruction in preparing botanical vouchers, an in-house herbarium collection and an examination of various plant parts.

The workshop helped attendees ensure compliance with cGMP rules, which require that QC/QA personnel be adequately trained in dietary ingredient identity testing.

The workshop covered botanical identity cGMP compliance requirements and the following topics:

• Strengths and weaknesses of various analytical technologies including botanical, morphological, microscopic, chemical, and DNA;
• Botanical terminology and botanical identification of plant materials;
• Language of botanical pharmacognosy and organoleptics;
• Terminology and assessment techniques for roots, leaves, stems, barks, flowers, fruits, seeds;
• Developing and documenting macroscopic and organoleptic assessments in a scientifically valid manner; and
• Common and uncommon botanical adulterants: how to detect and how to avoid them; sourcing of botanical reference materials and developing internal standards.

For more information, visit www.ahpa.org or www.herbal-ahp.org.