A Buyers Guide to the Best Herb Choice

"What herb do I need?" "What form should I buy?" "How much should I take?" "What's the right price?" "How do I know if this will really work?"

Is this the conversation you have with yourself when you shop for herbal products? I know, it's confusing, especially now that shelves are bursting with plant medicines of every description.

Let me go shopping with you.

I've come up with guidelines to take the guesswork out of buying medicinal herbs. And just so we understand each other, these recommendations are influenced by a simple prejudice of mine: I favor what is proven over what is not. If you prefer herbal fables over established herbal facts, my advice may not be for you.

RULE #1: Choose the herb that's right for you. First, ask yourself why you 're buying a particular herb. Then make sure it's appropriate for the condition you're treating. Science has established the value and safety of numerous herbs for menstrual problems, licorice for coughs, and valerian torelieve insomnia. See "Some Standardized Herbs at a Glance" for a list of other proven herbal healers.

RULE #2. Look for standardized extracts. Herb quality varies widely depending on where it was grown, time of harvest, method of drying, and length of storage. Even genetic composition comes into play. So it's obvious that ground or powdered herbs are also going to range considerably in their potency and efficacy.

A standardized extract is prepared so that a given weight of the product contains a specific amount of one or more of the herb's active constituents-the ingredients that give it its healing power. Alternatively, the product may be standardized for a so-called marker compound that is believed to reflect the concentration of its active ingredients.

For example, one brand of ginseng is prepared so that each capsule contains 100 mg of herbal extract standardized to a level of 4% (4 mg) total ginsenosides- the main active constituent. Most standardized St. John's wort products are adjusted to contain a level of 0.3% hypericin. In this case, hypericin is a marker compound and not the principal active ingredient, which is still unknown.

RULE #3 Find the form that’s right for you. People who have difficulty swallowing a capsule or tablet may prefer a liquid extract or a tincture of the herb, which are usually prepared with water and alcohol. Tinctures or liquid extracts that use alcohol or other solvents to extract the herb's healing power are easy to take. The solvent (called a menstruum) dissolves the medicinal components so they can be easily absorbed by the body. Buy the freshest liquid product available; a good herbal tincture will have an expiration date.

Soothing herbal teas have been used as medicine for thousands of years. As long as an herb's active constituents are water-soluble (dissolve in water), you can brew it into a tea. In general, herbs that are pleasantly aromatic make excellent teas. A very short list of good tea herbs includes ginger, fennel, chamomile, and various mints. Use approximately 1 teaspoon of dried herb to 1 cup of boiling water; steep, covered, for up to 15 minutes.

But some herbs, such as saw palmetto and milk thistle, have constituents that aren't water-soluble, so they won't do you any good as teas. Ginkgo shouldn't be made into a tea for two reasons: First, the unprocessed leaf contains toxic compounds related to those in poison ivy; theoretically, it could cause a reaction. Second, the tests done on ginkgo used a leaf extract concentrated to at least 50:1, so it's best to use products at that concentration.

RULE #4: Choose the best herb brands. We haven't yet come up with a uniform way to test individual products. There are a variety of different testing methods, and they may yield different results. However, there's enough data to show that the quality of herbal products varies greatly. I admit, choosing a good brand can be difficult, but here are four additional rules that will assist even the most perplexed shopper.

1. Look for well-tested products.

Many brands are identical to the form of herb that's proven itself in scientific testing. Usually, when a brand has been tested, you'll know it by reading the label. Examples include Ginsana ginseng, Kwai garlic, Ginkgold ginkgo, LeucoSelect grapeseed extract, Thisilyn milk thistle, and Kira St. John's wort. This is just a small sampling.

Many additional ones are identified in Rational Phytotherapy by Schulz,

*Dosage: Many of the herbs are standardized at different levels of active or marker constituents. Therefore, it is difficult to recommend a standard dosage for each. The best advice is to follow the amount recommended on the label.

Hansel, and Tyler (Springer Verlag, 1998). Other products may be equally good, but these are the ones that have solid research backing.

2. Choose a brand that's well made. Herbal product manufacturers are required to adhere to standards established for food processing (so-called food GMPs, or Good Manufacturing Practices). Some voluntarily adhere to higher manufacturing standards established for drugs (drug GMPs). Those that do are proud of it and may mention it in their catalogs or advertising.

3. Buy single-herb products that clearly indicate how much of the herb you get in a single dose. Complex mixtures containing numerous herbs often contain inadequate doses of each. As in most things, you generally get what you pay for; cheap herbs are not necessarily a good buy.

4. Finally, beware of outrageous claims. If an herb sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Don't buy products with "secret formulas," and think twice about products that aren't sold in health food stores or in other conventional retail outlets.

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