How to identify Grape Seed Extract ?

September 22, 2022

Grape Seed Extract(GSE) is a well-known dietary supplement, but do you know that there are a wide adulteration of Grape Seed derived products ?

Do you know how serious is adulteration of Grape Seed OPC today?
A scientific study group investigated 21 commercially available grape seed extract (GSE) supplements in 2014 .Their report on Food Chemistry revealed that amount 21 commercially available grape seed extract supplements samples 6 of them are seriously adulterated or maybe counterfeit ,and another 5 sample are below standard . "Very few of the commercial GSE samples contained an overall content of PACs and catechins at a level comparab le to authentic GSE, which raises a serious concern," they wrote.

Why we should not use adulteration OPC from Peanut?
Nowadays ,peanut skin extract is the most common counterfeits of GSE as they contain similar proanthocyanidins .However ,researches showed that the exact constituents of ingredients in proanthocyanidins from peanut skin and grape seed are different .Also the functions from two kinds source are different. Moreover , peanuts are well known as a common allergen .Using adulteration of GSE with peanut skin extracts may bring serious risk to consumers and the company due to the possibility of reactions to peanut allergens.

How to identify adulteration?
Although peanut skin is rich in proanthocyanidins ,the constituents of adulterations and the authentic product are didferent .GSE is found to contains B-type PACs with highest concentrations of catechin and epicatechin while peanut skin is composed principally of A-type PACs with negligible quantities of the monomers, catechin and epicatechin . So far, investigation shows several methods including TLC, HPTLC and HPLC-UV/MS may detect GSE adulteration .