Technical Workshops

AHPA regularly presents technical workshops to train the herbal products industry on the latest tools and methods that help ensure high-quality products and compliance with federal and state regulations.


Upcoming Workshops

AHPA Workshop: Botanical, Macroscopic & Organoleptic Assessment of Herbal Ingredients for cGMP Compliance

AHPA Workshop: Botanical, Macroscopic & Organoleptic Assessment of Herbal Ingredients for cGMP Compliance

 

Workshop Sponsor:
Mountain Rose Herbs

Event Details:

  • Dates: March 27-28, 2023

  • Time: 8:30am-2:30pm PT / 11:30-5:30pm ET (Daily)

  • Location: VIRTUAL

Instructors:

Registration:

  • AHPA Members: $900

  • Non-Members: $1,450

Group Registration: Contact Anissa Medina, Education & Events Manager, at amedina@ahpa.org for more information about our group discount on workshop registration for two or more attendees from your organization.

Workshop Description:
This workshop will provide a detailed orientation of botanical, macroscopic, and organoleptic identification methods, quality assessment techniques and terminology, and demonstrate how these techniques are used to evaluate crude plant parts in a scientifically valid manner.
 
Botanical Identification: Despite advancements in chemistry and genetics, classical botany remains the foundation by which all plants are identified and therefore is the gold standard of proper plant identification.
 
Macroscopic Identification: Each plant part possesses a relatively unique suite of characters that allow for an identification, purity, and quality assessment to be made rapidly and is easily documented.
 
Organoleptic Assessment: The sensory characteristics of a plant reflect its mechanical and chemical properties, which are most often directly correlated with the plants desired health benefits. Sensory assessment of plant material has been the primary analytical technique used by herbalists historically, is under-emphasized as to its importance, can help in the quality assessment of raw botanicals and herbal extracts, and is seldom taught and applied in the botanical products industry.
 
Current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) require QC/QA personnel to be adequately trained in dietary ingredient testing. This workshop will provide the foundation of botanical ingredient assessment in a manner that supports all other analytical methodologies that are subsequently performed. Each participant shall receive a Certificate of Completion to provide documentation that QC personnel have received training in these important techniques that then in part satisfies your GMP documentation for personnel training.
 
This two-day, hands-on virtual workshop will cover:

  • Botanical identity cGMP compliance requirements

  • Strengths and weaknesses of various analytical technologies (botanical, morphological, microscopic, chemical, DNA)

  • Botanical terminology and botanical identification of plant materials

  • Language of botanical pharmacognosy and organoleptics

  • Terminology and assessment techniques for roots, leaves, stems, barks, flowers, fruits, seeds

  • Developing and documenting macroscopic and organoleptic assessments in a scientifically valid manner

  • Common and uncommon botanical adulterants: how to detect and how to avoid them

  • Sourcing of botanical reference materials and developing internal standards Authoritative reference guides and sources for gaining botanical identification skills

The discussions will be accompanied by virtual instruction on:

  • Preparing botanical vouchers

  • Examining various plant parts provided during the instruction

Who should attend?
QC/QA personnel, laboratory personnel, regulatory compliance personnel, natural products researchers, supplement companies looking for economical means to comply with cGMP identification requirements, and anyone with an interest in utilizing botanical, macroscopic and organoleptic techniques to identify botanicals.

Want to make a suggestion for a future technical workshop? Contact science@ahpa.org.


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