FAQ / What is Standardization?

There is a disturbing trend today regarding the "standardization" of herbal preparations. Herbs are "standardized" to a certain percentage of an active constituent in an herb, supposedly making the product higher quality than, say, a whole plant tincture or extract. These drug concentrates are not naturally occurring and the natural balance of the plant is no longer intact. An additional side effect is the necessity of using toxic solvents in the preparation of a standardized extract.

Medicinal herbs contain a wide range (sometimes dozens) of active constituents that work synergistically with each other. Many of these consituents are ones which we have been unable to identify. At Sage Woman Herbs, we feel that the full spectrum of an herb must be extracted to assure that the final product closely resembles the naturally ocurring herb. The possiblity of side effects from herbs is greatly reduced by following this procedure.

Sage Woman Herbs prefers the safer, traditional methods of preparing and using herbs to the new, untested method of standardization.

To compare the dose of a standardized capsule or tablet with one of our tinctures, generally 21 drops of our tincture equates to a 300 mg capsule of standardized extracted herb.

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