Adulteration rates in elder berry and four other herbal products
What it found
Out of 695 elder berry samples, 17.1% were adulterated or mislabeled.
Across five popular herbs, 818 of 2995 total samples did not match their labels.
What they found
Elder berry label accuracy
Out of 695 elder berry samples checked, 17.1% were found to be adulterated or mislabeled. This was the fourth highest rate among the five plants studied.
Other herbs tested
Ginkgo leaf had the highest problem rate at 56.7% across 533 samples. Black cohosh rhizome showed issues in 42.2% of 322 samples, echinacea root or herb in 28.5% of 200 samples, and turmeric root or rhizome in 16.5% of 1247 samples.
Medicines versus supplements
Products sold as registered herbal medicines had a lower chance of being tampered with compared to those sold as food supplements.
What the authors conclude
- They note that a large share of plant-based supplements do not actually contain what their packaging promises.
- They point out that the problem rate varies widely depending on which plant ingredient is involved.
- They advise that these findings cannot be applied to other botanicals because the supplement market changes quickly and the available data have major gaps.
How it was done
Plant-based supplements are used worldwide for wellness, but fake or mixed-up ingredients can affect how well they work. Scientists wanted to measure how often these products do not match what their packaging claims.
The authors gathered information from 78 published studies covering five popular plant ingredients, including elder berry. They looked at a total of 2995 samples to see how many were tampered with or wrongly labeled. The data covered research published up to July 2023.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This work looks at product testing rather than health effects in people or animals. It cannot show whether taking these products helps or harms you.
- Because it combines many different studies, it cannot prove exactly why certain products were tampered with or mislabeled.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- American Botanical Council, USA
The paper
- Title
- Estimating the extent of adulteration of the popular herbs black cohosh, echinacea, elder berry, ginkgo, and turmeric - its challenges and limitations
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Orhan N, Gafner S, Blumenthal M (2024). Estimating the extent of adulteration of the popular herbs black cohosh, echinacea, elder berry, ginkgo, and turmeric - its challenges and limitations. Natural product reports. doi:10.1039/d4np00014ePubMed 39108221DOI
Summary written 1 Oct 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error