Provides reliable form of Black Cohosh meeting
American Herbal Products Association standards for unadulterated product

June 22, 2006 – Surrey, BC – Indena is now offering black cohosh available in Canada from Alliance Principle Ingredients standardized at 2.5% and 5% Saponins as 23-epi-26-deoxyactein through High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), considered the most reliable method of analysis.  Considered a global leader for herbal products and quality advocate, Indena supports its products through its Indena 30 quality control system where more than 30 quality controls are employed from start to finish.

A recent study from the Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry¹ publicized by the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) reported that three of eleven black cohosh products did not contain black cohosh at all.  Instead, these products contained the less expensive alternative Chinese cimicifuga that does not have the same chemical profile.  The products tested were purchased from 2002 through 2004 and analyzed through HPLC.

The AHPA in September of 2005 reinforced that marketers are responsible for assuring their black cohosh products are free from the adulterant Chinese cimicifuga rhizome and root.  Products not meeting these requirements are considered adulterated by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 
 
“The AHPA has informed marketers regarding adulterated black cohosh products that they are responsible for assuring their products are free of Chinese cimicifuga,” says Paolo Malesani, the Indena sales area manager for North America, “Indena offers standardized black cohosh to ensure manufacturers are getting unadulterated black cohosh containing the active principles.”

Indena products are also supported by the Indena 30 quality control system emphasizing more than 30 quality controls from the starting material to the finished product.  Indena performs botanical and chemical checks before starting the production, followed by GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) and then analytical methods to ensure high standards of quality are recorded every step of the way. The Indena 30 quality control system provides a final check on Black Cohosh with HPLC to ensure the product is free of cimicifuga.

Black cohosh supplements are used for managing symptoms of menopause in women.  For more information about black cohosh ingredients from Indena, contact Alliance Principle Ingredients, the Indena Canadian distributor, at (604) 576-1130 or visit its Web site at www.allianceingredients.com.

About Indena
Indena, headquartered in Milan, Italy, is a leading supplier of botanical extracts and has more than 80 years of experience in manufacturing pharmaceutical grade botanicals.  Indena sets the standards of excellence for active principles for the pharmaceutical and dietary supplement markets.  For more information about Indena, visit www.indena.com.

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¹ Jiang B, Kronenburg F, Nuntanakorn P, Qiu M-H, Kennelly EJ. Evaluation of the botanical authenticity and phytochemical profile of black cohosh products by high-performance liquid chromatography with selected ion monitoring liquid chromatography-mass sectrometry. J Agric Food Chem. 2006; 54(9): 3242-53.

For more information, contact:

Steve Hanson
GRIP IDEAS
(602) 430-7246
steve@gripideas.com