Quality & Safety
Quality and Safety Assurance for Herbal Extracts
For millennia, herbs have played a central role in natural healing traditions across cultures. However, modern industrialization has significantly altered the ecosystems and cultivation methods that once ensured the purity of herbal resources. Today’s herbs often face contamination risks from chemical pesticides, heavy metals, and industrial pollutants, making quality control more critical than ever.
At NovoHerb, safeguarding the safety, authenticity, and efficacy of herbal extracts is our highest priority. Our comprehensive quality management system spans from source identification to advanced laboratory testing, ensuring every batch meets international standards for botanical extracts.
Rigorous Quality Standards
NovoHerb’s quality standards for herbal raw materials and extracts cover both traditional sensory assessment and advanced scientific analysis, including:
– Macroscopic & organoleptic evaluation: color, morphology, grain, taste, aroma
– Physical properties: mesh size, density, solubility
– Chemical analyses: qualitative and quantitative determination of bioactive compounds
– Safety indicators: moisture content (loss on drying), ash content (residue on ignition), heavy metal residues, pesticide residues, microbial contamination
– Identity verification: adulteration screening and species authentication
These assessments are governed by strict Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) across all production stages, with only compliant batches permitted to enter the market.
Species Authentication
Accurate species identification is foundational to the safety and efficacy of herbal products. NovoHerb combines traditional authentication methods with modern scientific techniques, including:
– Macroscopic & Microscopic identification
– Physical-chemical characteristic evaluation
– DNA-based species verification (where applicable)
– Chemical fingerprinting via:
– Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC)
– High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-MS)
– Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS/MS)
Our authentication practices comply with global pharmacopoeia standards and national regulatory requirements, minimizing risks from misidentified or substituted herbs.
Sulfur Dioxide Residue Testing
To prevent mold and insect damage, some producers fumigate herbs with sulfur dioxide (SO₂)—a practice NovoHerb strictly rejects. SO₂ may chemically alter the active components of herbs, degrade sensory quality, and produce harmful sulfites linked to allergic reactions and asthma.
Our QC laboratories screen all raw herbs using methods such as:
– Iodometric titration
– Color comparison testing
– Atomic absorption spectroscopy
– Rankine method for SO₂ quantification
Herbs found to contain sulfur residues are rejected to maintain product integrity.
Pesticide Residue Analysis
Given the persistence of banned organochlorine pesticides in soil and air, comprehensive pesticide testing is essential. NovoHerb screens both primary pesticides and their chemical by-products using:
– Gas Chromatography (GC) for its sensitivity and reliability
– TLC as a secondary method for general residue screening
Our labs test for a wide range of pesticide classes, including organophosphates, carbamates, and pyrethroids, ensuring compliance with EU, US, and Chinese regulatory limits.
Aflatoxin Detection
Aflatoxins—naturally occurring mycotoxins produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus—are carcinogenic and pose significant health risks. These toxins may contaminate herbal materials like Corydalis (Yan Hu Suo), Jujube (Da Zao), and Cyperus (Xiang Fu) during improper storage.
NovoHerb employs:
– Chloroform-based extraction
– UV light fluorescence testing
– TLC and HPLC quantification
All products are rigorously screened for B1, B2, G1, and G2 aflatoxins in accordance with international food and herbal safety standards.
Heavy Metal Screening
Heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and copper pose chronic health threats and are increasingly found in herbs due to environmental contamination.
NovoHerb uses Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) to detect trace heavy metal elements with ultra-high precision, exceeding standard pharmacopoeia detection thresholds.
Each batch is tested both before and after extraction, ensuring consumer safety and consistent compliance with EU and Chinese herbal safety regulations.
Aristolochic Acid Monitoring
Aristolochic acid (AA), a nephrotoxic and carcinogenic compound found in certain Aristolochiaceae plants, has been linked to severe kidney damage and cancer. Misidentification of herbs like Guang Fang Ji (Aristolochia fangchi) poses serious health risks.
NovoHerb maintains a strict “zero tolerance” policy for AA contamination, using:
– TLC and UPLC-MS/MS to detect trace AA content
– Authentication screening for easily confused herbs like Stephania tetrandra, Clematis armandi, and Vladimiria souliei
– Routine exclusion of all Aristolochia species in raw material procurement
Commitment to Safety and Science
NovoHerb blends traditional herbal knowledge with modern science to uphold the highest global standards for herbal extract safety. By combining expert evaluations with cutting-edge technologies, we provide herbal products that are not only authentic but also scientifically verified and globally trusted.
Consumers, brands, and health professionals can rely on NovoHerb’s commitment to quality, transparency, and innovation in every product.