Nootropics Depot Calls for Shift to Bioactive Standardization in Botanicals

TEMPE, Ariz., Dec. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Nootropics Depot announced the publication of a new technical white paper titled "The Bioactive Imperative: Why Standardization to Unique Compounds is Essential for Botanical Product Integrity," authored by President and CEO Paul Eftang. The paper outlines how current quality practices in the botanical supplement sector can fail to ensure that finished products contain meaningful levels of pharmacologically active compounds, despite meeting identity and labeling requirements.

New white paper release

The white paper examines systemic issues such as overreliance on DNA barcoding, macroscopic and chromatographic identification, and the marketing of high-ratio extracts that are not supported by compound-level data. Using Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia) as a primary example, the document presents longitudinal testing showing that many products either contain sub-native levels of eurycomanone or consist of spent marc, even when they pass species identification testing.

Exposing extract ratios and spent marc

Eftang's analysis describes how claimed 100:1 and 200:1 Tongkat Ali extracts are often inconsistent with extraction economics and analytical results, with some products testing at or below the native eurycomanone range found in unextracted root material. The paper further details how spent marc, the plant material remaining after bioactive extraction, is reintroduced into the supply chain and sold as extract, creating products that appear authentic in identity tests but deliver little or no therapeutic value.

A framework for compound-based standards

The white paper proposes a hierarchy of testing methods and concludes that only compound-specific quantification using validated HPLC or UPLC methods can reliably detect adulteration and ensure clinical relevance. It recommends mandatory bioactive standardization for key botanicals, including minimum eurycomanone specifications for Tongkat Ali and analogous standards for withanolides, ginsenosides, curcuminoids, and other well-characterized constituents.

CEO Paul Eftang on quality and trust

"The industry has reached a point where identity testing and inflated ratio claims are no longer acceptable proxies for quality," said Paul Eftang, President and CEO of Nootropics Depot. "If products are not standardized to the compounds that actually drive their effects, and if those compounds are not measured with validated analytical methods, then consumers, clinicians, and researchers cannot trust what is on the label or in the bottle."

Nootropics Depot's role in advancing standards

The white paper also describes Nootropics Depot's implementation of eurycomanone and quassinoid profiling for Tongkat Ali, using native baseline data to distinguish genuine extracts from spent marc. It highlights the company's broader program to standardize unique bioactives across a catalog of more than 600 products, supported by partnerships with Omnient Labs and the Future Nutra Foundation to promote transparent, bioactive-focused quality standards throughout the supplement industry.

About Nootropics Depot

Nootropics Depot is at the forefront of bioactive standardization, implementing validated UPLC-UV and UPLC-MS testing protocols that go beyond identification to quantify the therapeutic compounds responsible for health benefits. Our comprehensive quassinoid profiling of Tongkat Ali, including eurycomanone and supporting quassinoids, ensures every batch meets evidence-based specifications. Our commitment to exposing spent marc schemes, educating about ratio fraud, and demanding supply chain transparency sets the industry standard for quality and integrity. We are proud to have been one of the first brands to champion eurycomanone standardization many years ago, which has resulted in meaningful shifts in brands' activity. Where before no brands were talking about eurycomanone, now many are. This is a positive change that we are proud to have been a part of triggering. However, this is only the start. Our efforts to expand quassinoid assay methods, and expand product standardization to a broader picture of Tongkat Ali bioactives, is going to set the new standard for quality in the space.  Moreover, our efforts are not just in relation to Tongkat Ali. We have been expanding testing methods and standardizations to unique bioactives across hundreds of plants and fungi that make up our catalog of over 600 SKUs. From our erinacine A standardized lion's mane mycelium, to our ebelin lactone standardized Bacopa, Nootropics Depot has been spearheading novel bioactive standardization for 13 years. Through our partnerships with Omnient Labs and the Future Nutra Foundation, we are trying to push the industry as a whole to take supplement standardization, lab testing, and quality control seriously.

Media Contact:
Michael Packman
Marketing Manager
Nootropics Depot
[email protected] 

SOURCE Nootropics Depot