Standardize

To prepare a botanical extract so that predetermined levels of certain compounds (known as <i>marker compounds</i>) are guaranteed, by analysis, to be present in every batch. Ideally, these compounds and their concentrations are chosen based on research results, although a preparation can be standardized to non-medicinal, but characteristic, marker compounds. Honorable standardization seeks to preserve the natural profile of an herb's medicinal chemistry and guarantee a consistent product; sleazy standardization methods inlude spiking inferior material with marker compounds to make it more attractive. Misguided ideas of standardization ave sometimes lead to a narrow focus on the presumed 'active compounds' at the expense of others -- which are later discovered to be active and/or synergistic, too. There are plenty of divergent&nbsp; opinions about what <i>standardization </i>means and whether or not it's a good thing. -<i>- Ganora</i>