AOAC Glucosamine Method Collaborative Study

by Joseph Zhou, Ph.D., Laboratory Director, NOW Foods

Until recently, there was no official test method for analyzing the popular dietary supplement called glucosamine, which comes in various forms such as glucosamine sulfate and glucosamine hydrochloride. This is a common problem for supplement manufacturers and consumers, who want to assure that the highest quality ingredients are used but often lack agreement on exactly how to test each unique material to a common standard. Often, standard methods have not yet been established for identifying and quantifying so many natural substances. And the development of each new testing method can takes years to successfully complete.

A new analytical method developed at the NOW Foods laboratory, Determination of Glucosamine in Raw Materials and Dietary Supplements Containing Glucosamine Sulfate and/or Glucosamine Hydrochloride by HPLC with FMOC-Su Derivatization, has become an AOAC First Action Official Method ^SM (Reference 1). This method has been designated as AOAC method 2005.01, published in the July/August 2005 issue of the Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL (Reference 2). In April 2003, AOAC’s Expert Review Panel (ERP) on glucosamine selected NOW’s glucosamine method as the best method for further laboratory validation. Since then, the method has successfully completed the AOAC’s rigorous validation process, which includes both single laboratory validation (Reference 3) and collaborative study.  Read More ...

Scientific Safety Information on Progesterone

California Proposition 65 (Prop 65) and Progesterone Cream Warnings

by Amy Kosowski, M.S., LDN

Prop 65: What is it?

Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 , was enacted as a ballot initiative in the state of California in November of 1986. The Proposition was intended by its authors to protect California citizens and the State's drinking water sources from chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm, and to inform citizens about exposures to such chemicals ¹.   Read More ...

Cost-Effective Natural Methods to Address the Leading Causes of Death and Chronic Diseases

Abstracts of the seven papers presented in a Symposium at the American Oil Chemists Society Annual Meeting and Expo in Cincinnati, Ohio May 11, 2004. This Symposium was organized and sponsored by: Natural Health Research Institute, 5 Thomas Circle NW, Suite #500, Washington, DC 20005. (With permission of the American Oil Chemists Society)   Read More ...

Clinical Trial Supports Efficacy of NOW® SAMe for OA of the Knee

At NOW® Foods we take an active role in reassuring the public that dietary supplements are safe and effective when used as recommended. We pursue this ongoing goal through several different avenues, one of which is supplying researchers with top quality dietary supplements for use in clinical trials. NOW® Foods is proud to support clinical research into the efficacy of dietary supplements and we are confident that science will continue to prove the safety and effectiveness of natural dietary supplements as viable alternatives to synthetic prescription medications and their side effects.  Read More ...

Innacurate Analytical Results

There are six major reasons why your test results may not match up.

By Joseph Zhou, Heidi Li, Ted Waszkuc, Upasana Abbot

Most of us assume that the results of laboratory analysis are precise and accurate. In the supplement business, lack of accuracy in analysis can have a negative impact, not only on the consumer, but on the manufacturer and the supplement industry as well. In a recent article in Nutritional Outlook, Joseph Zhou, et al., of NOW Foods, provide a detailed explanation of how and why inaccurate test results come about.   Read More...

The Aging Process

A.D.N.J. de Grey, B.N. Ames, J.K. Andersen, A. Bartke, J. Campisi, C.B. Heward, R.J.M. McCarter, G. Stock

In an effort to understand aging, researchers have often tried to determine which processes in each of the three categories are the most important.  For instance, they have tried to determine which metabolic processes have the greatest effect on the rate of damage accumulation or which types of damage have the greatest effect on the rate of accumulation of pathology.  Read More ...