Hartwig Sievers

Publications (2)2.15 Total impact

• Article: Quality control of plant food supplements.

  Elisabetta Sanzini, Mihaela Badea, Ariana Dos Santos, Patrizia Restani, Hartwig Sievers
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  ABSTRACT: It is essential to guarantee the safety of unprocessed plants and food supplements if consumers' health is to be protected. Although botanicals and their preparations are regulated at EU level, at least in part, there is still considerable discretion at national level, and Member States may choose to classify a product either as a food supplement or as a drug. Accurate data concerning the finished products and the plant used as the starting point are of major importance if risks and safety are to be properly assessed, but in addition standardized criteria for herbal preparation must be laid down and respected by researchers and manufacturers. Physiologically active as well as potentially toxic constituents need to be identified, and suitable analytical methods for their measurement specified, particularly in view of the increasing incidence of economically motivated adulteration of herbal raw materials and extracts. It remains the duty of food operators to keep up with the scientific literature and to provide sufficient information to enable the adaptation of specifications, sampling schemes and analytical methods to a fast-changing environment.
  Food & function. 08/2011; 2(12):740-6.
• Article: Herbal reference standards.

  Michael Schwarz, Bernhard Klier, Hartwig Sievers
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  ABSTRACT: This review describes the current definitions and regulatory requirements that apply to reference standards that are used to analyse herbal products. It also describes and discusses the current use of reference substances and reference extracts in the European and United States pharmacopoeias.
  Planta Medica 06/2009; 75(7):689-703. · 2.15 Impact Factor