Photo Bilberry ©2015 Steven Foster ©2015 Steven Bilberry Fruit Extract myrtillus Vaccinium Laboratory Guidance Document By Stefan Gafner, PhD Chief Science Officer, American Botanical Council Technical Director, ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program Contact:
[email protected] Keywords: Adulterant, adulteration, bilberry adulteration, anthocyanin, bilberry, synthetic dye, Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinium spp. 1. Purpose Market demand for bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus, Ericaceae) fruit extracts, combined with high prices and falling profit margins have resulted in unscrupulous manufacturers selling various ingredients labeled “bilberry extract.” Adulteration predominantly occurs with anthocyanin-rich extracts from other species, e.g., bog bilberry (V. uliginosum), lingonberry (V. vitis-idaea), European elder (Sambucus nigra, Adoxaceae), and Chinese mulberry (Morus australis, Moraceae). Additional adulterants reportedly include black soybean (Glycine max, Fabaceae) hull or black rice (Oryza sativa, Poaceae) extracts, and synthetic colorants like amaranth dye, an azo dye prohibited for use by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a suspected carcinogen, and/ or charcoal.1 This Laboratory Guidance Document presents a review of the various analytical technologies and methods used to differentiate between authentic bilberry extracts and potential adulterants. 2. Scope Previous pharmacopeial test methods for bilberry fruit extract based on UV/Vis absorption of the extract (spectrophotometric methods) are acceptable for quantification of total anthocyanidins, but have proven insufficient to detect adulteration with antho- cyanin-rich extracts from other species or synthetic dyes; therefore, other analytical techniques must be used to comply with the legal requirement (for example, according to the Good Manufacturing Practice rule in the United States, and in other countries) to confirm the identity of bilberry fruit extracts.