Comment · Sun, November 12, 2017 · Ceretropic & Nootropics Depot
Rapid biodegradation of herbal extracts like Bacopa. A power supplement at day one, half as effective after 1 month, placebo after 3 months? Why proper storage is important and how to store it.
Original post in this thread
TheJonManley · 79 points
TL; DR; Yes, herbal extracts might biodegrade relatively quick - unless properly stored. Use common preservation techniques. I elaborate on both below.
There is a lot of awareness about biodegradation of peptides, but not a lot of awareness about biodegradation of dried plant extracts. Biodegradation can take something that is very effective and render it no more valuable than placebo. Thus, it's a very important factor to be mindful of.
I didn't notice any serious discussion about it, so I'll start by by sharing what I've found on one of the herb extracts that I use - Bacopa Monnieri.
I recently read a study concluding that "BM plant material should be used fresh to obtain maximum concentration of active saponins or it should be stored under LS conditions up to 3 months." [1]
Here are numbers from that study:
In the case of the accelerated study the concentration of bacopaside I reduced to 91.20% and the concentration of bacoside A reduced to 68.27% within 1 month from the initial 100% concentration. The samples stored under long-term study showed that the quantity of bacopaside I reduced to 66.99, 45.60, 43.94 and 19.53% in 3, 6, 9 and 12 months respectively,…
What they were answering
ImperfectlyInformed · 5 points
Hoping MisterYouAreSoDumb could offer his take on this.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic & Nootropics Depot
Interesting info! They used 30*C (86*F) and 65% humidity for the long-term testing. That's higher than room temp, and 65% humidity is pretty high. However, it is surprising how much it degraded in that environment. I would love to see how 70*F and 15% humidity would fare. That's what we store finished products at. We store raw materials at 65*F and 15% humidity. We also use desiccants, and this is Arizona. So humidity is not really an issue. I will check to see if we have any older lots still on the shelf, and send one to Alkemist. Then we can compare the bacoside levels to their initial testing levels.