ConsumerLab Finds Fault with Ginseng Suppliers, Identifies Products

The dietary supplement market still needs enforcing, as evidenced by a new ConsumerLab report on ginseng supplements.

ConsumerLab released a report on Monday stating that 5 out of 11 ginseng supplements the group recently tested had less ginseng than stated on the label or were contaminated with lead or pesticides. The group's report included Asian or "Korean" ginseng (Panax ginseng) and American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius).

One supplement contained only 60.3% ginsenosides (the active ingredient in ginseng), said ConsumerLab. Furthermore, suggested daily servings for each product were far from consistent, ranging from 6 mg to 304 mg of ginsenosides.

HealthNews reports that products found to be contaminated or lacking in ginsenosides were Imperial Elixir Korean White Ginseng, Bluebonnet Herbals American Ginseng Root Extract, Nature's Plus Herbal Actives American Ginseng, NSI... American Ginseng 80%, and TruNature Triple Energy Ginsengs with Eleuthero.

Companies included in the review were Action Labs (Anaheim CA), Bluebonnet (Sugar Land, TX), Good Neighbor Pharmacy (Valley Forge, PA), Imperial Elixir (GINCO; Simi Valley, CA), Nature Made (Mission Hills, CA), Nature's Bounty (Bohemia, NY), Nature's Plus (Melville, NY), NSI (Vitacost; Lexington, NC), Pharmanex (Provo, UT), Puritan...s Pride (Long Island, NY), Solgar (Leonia, NJ), Spring Valley (Walmart; Springfield, MO), TruNature (South El Monte, CA), Vitamin Shoppe (North Bergen, NJ), Vitamin World (Bohemia, NJ), and Whole Foods (Austin, TX).