It’s common knowledge that to produce safe and effective functional products, using quality ingredients is key. The challenge is that the word “quality” has become so omnipresent in marketing language, it almost lacks meaning. If every ingredient is deemed a quality material, how can one reliably differentiate among ingredient suppliers? That is where education, due diligence, and responsibility come into play.

Take elderberry as an example. There are multiple aspects of ensuring true quality throughout the supply chain, or life cycle, of an elderberry ingredient, including where and how the raw berries are sourced; the types of processing and manufacturing used; subsequent testing; certifications; and clinical research.

Origin of Raw Material

Simply put, the highest quality products start with the highest quality raw material. For European Black Elderberry—and for all botanicals—this means transparency. Think traceability back to the growers and fields, careful selection of premium cultivars, well-established crops and sourcing relationships, sustainable growing practices, and periodic quality audits of the farms. There should be no unknowns when it comes to where and how the raw materials are procured.

Certain suppliers of European Black Elderberry have decades-old sourcing partnerships with growers. This means well-established Sambucus nigra shrubs/trees, exclusively the Haschberg variety that is known for high naturally occurring levels of nutrients and bioactives, and even-ripening. Even-ripening is important for quality elderberries because unripe or green berries are not edible at that stage. Harvests that ripen at the same time yield elderberries ready to be processed simultaneously into safe and effective ingredients and products.

In a perfect world, botanical ingredients are always made from authentic, high-quality crops. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. In fact, throughout history bad actors have sold adulterated ingredients that are padded with other ingredients or consist entirely of different products or fillers.

Recently, this occurred with adulterated European Black Elderberry ingredients (and continues today.) Cheaper, inferior products, made from other elderberry species or black rice, crept into the market. Thankfully, industry stakeholders worked together to identify the issue and offer actionable advice about sourcing or qualifying European Black Elderberry ingredients.¹ This reaffirms how important it is for companies to qualify their suppliers and know the source and handling of the raw material.

Processing

After securing the best raw materials, quality can be maintained through gentle processing of the elderberries. Methods can vary, with some much harsher than others. The goal is to keep the final ingredient composition as close as possible to the original botanical and avoid unnecessarily stripping away potentially beneficial compounds. 

For example, to extract key bioactives from elderberry, some manufacturers utilize ethanol (or other harsh chemical) solvents. This may provide the highest yield of certain concentrated compounds. However, it also strips away other key actives like polysaccharides in the process. These polysaccharides have recently been implicated as important components for the immune-supporting properties of elderberry.² So simply seeking out the highest standardized level of a particular active compound does not necessarily mean it is the best quality ingredient option for the intended purpose.

Luckily, extraction methods exist that use mild solvents like water, as do gentle processing techniques that concentrate certain bioactives like polyphenols and anthocyanins while preserving more of the original compounds in the fruit, like the polysaccharides.

Another quality checkpoint related to processing is the creation of standardized levels of relevant compounds as part of the specifications. Standardization helps to ensure consistency and potency to assist with use rates and make more consistent consumer products.

Quality Testing and Certifications

No botanical ingredient should be qualified for use in a finished formula without confirmation of the purity, potency, and contaminants as part of current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP). This is especially important for elderberry due to recent adulteration concerns with certain supply chains. Analytical testing to confirm the identity of the ingredient is an essential part of due diligence. The ingredient supplier should be able to provide this data as well.

Some of the key bioactive compounds identified in elderberry are polyphenols, specifically the flavonoids known as anthocyanins. These compounds have been linked to elderberry’s impact on human health and so should be validated to ensure optimum quality of the ingredient. All elderberry is not created equal, as different elderberry ingredients can greatly vary in the quantity of these bioactives.

When using third-party labs, choose only those that specialize in the relevant ingredients and methods to get the most accurate information. For example, using outdated methods, or those that apply to different products, may yield skewed results that differ from manufacturer certificates of analysis. The United States Pharmacopeia is currently publishing an updated monograph for European Black Elderberry aqueous extracts that outlines methods for identification and potency confirmation that are more appropriate for current products on the market than the former elderberry monograph.

Clinical Research to Validate Benefits

The true measure of a premium-quality ingredient is whether it provides the desired heath benefit. For elderberry, in addition to its extensive history of use as an immune support product, there are several published studies ranging from in vitro mechanism-of-action studies to large-scale human clinical trials that indicate immune health outcomes from particular elderberry ingredients.

For example, new research has shown that a European elderberry extract has anti-viral-replication activity against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in vitro. This is in addition to a clinical trial showing a reduction in severity and duration of symptoms from upper respiratory tract ailments. Consumers agree that elderberry is an ingredient of choice to help stave off illness.

While this is already compelling, research continues to explore new ways elderberry makes its mark. Supporting a healthy immune system by way of a healthier gut is the latest discovery that launches European elderberry into the digestive health category, thanks to its newly discovered prebiotic benefits.³

Again, buyers should be aware that not all elderberry ingredients have the same efficacy. For example, there are particular polysaccharide bioactives associated with immune-stimulating activity that are completely absent in certain elderberry extract preparations.²

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'Know the whole supply chain, from berry to final packaging, and ensure all appropriate quality measures are present—for the manufacturer and for the ingredient. Responsibility lies with ingredient manufacturers/suppliers but also with product formulators and buyers to seek out the good stuff. Yes, this often comes at a premium, but you get what you pay for.'

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Avoid Consumer Confusion

Choosing which elderberry ingredient you use and how much to include in a formulation can depend on several factors. There are physical aspects like the volume of a capsule, organoleptic considerations, desired use rates and claims, and of course price. But providing a quality elderberry product is not just limited to sourcing an ingredient that checks all the boxes. It also means formulating and marketing responsibly.

Let’s say there is an observed effective use rate associated with a particular elderberry extract based on a clinical trial. Adding an equivalent amount of a more diluted elderberry powder gives appearances on the label of being just as effective. However, this is not necessarily the case, and the consumer is the one who suffers if the product doesn’t work as well. Ultimately, it can tarnish the reputation of the efficacy of the botanical itself.

Extract or equivalence ratios are also a slippery slope in terms of consumer confusion and trust. Equivalence ratios are often included in supplement labels to show a concentration factor. The issue is when the adjusted fruit equivalence value is the main marketed label claim. Knowing how much of the original fruit was used to produce the ingredient does not always directly translate to “equivalent to eating that much of the fruit” when it comes to the actual nutritional density, especially for more processed ingredients.

Source Responsibly

What’s the takeaway? Know your elderberry! Know the whole supply chain, from berry to final packaging, and ensure all appropriate quality measures are present—for the manufacturer and for the ingredient. Responsibility lies with ingredient manufacturers/suppliers but also with product formulators and buyers to seek out the good stuff. Yes, this often comes at a premium, but you get what you pay for.

It is refreshing to see more and more product manufacturers adding layers to their vendor and product qualification requirements in order to properly vet the ingredients they are considering purchasing, but more work needs to be done to weed out the bad actors and ensure responsible sourcing and marketing to benefit consumers and brands alike.

Consumers do not get the benefit of seeing all that goes into the qualification and validation processes of finished product manufacturers. However, they must feel confident that their trusted brands have done their due diligence to source ingredients and formulate products to be authentic, effective, and safe. That is the ultimate call to action to anyone sourcing elderberry for functional food, beverage, or supplement use.

About the Author: Melanie Bush is vice president of science and research at Artemis International. With more than 15 years of experience at the company, her responsibilities span several departments including quality assurance, R&D, and technical sales support. She enjoys spearheading new research in the field of dark berry extracts and communicating the ever-evolving science of berry phytonutrients. 

References

1. HerbalEGram. (March 2021). Vol. 18, Issue 3.

2. Stich, L., Plattner, S., McDougall, G., Austin, C., & Steinkasserer, A. (2022). Polysaccharides from European Black Elderberry Extract Enhance Dendritic Cell Mediated T Cell Immune Responses. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(7), 3949. doi: 10.3390/ijms23073949

3. Reider, S., Watschinger, C., Längle, J., Pachmann, U., Przysiecki, N., Pfister, A., Zollner, A., Tilg, H., Plattner, S., & Moschen, A. R. (2022). Short- and Long-Term Effects of a Prebiotic Intervention with Polyphenols Extracted from European Black Elderberry-Sustained Expansion of Akkermansia spp. Journal of Personalized Medicine, 12(9), 1479. doi: 10.3390/jpm12091479