FULL-SPECTRUM VS. STANDARDIZED

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Beneficial carries tinctures of plants that we feel are best processed as full-spectrum extractions. There is much controversy over which is better, full-spectrum or standardized extraction, but the real question should be "Which is appropriate to achieve the efficacy of a specific plant product."

Learn what you need to know to answer this question. Be educated about what you are buying and how this may impact your personal healthcare.

Full-spectrum Extraction
A full-spectrum extract is made with an herbaceous plant's part(s),with water based extraction to achieve a product that includes the highest percentage of all the plant's chemicals and compounds, without affecting the natural ratio of these constituents present in the plant. Full-spectrum extracts keep the natural ratios of the constituents in tact. Many scientists and practitioners around the world believe that some of the desired effects observed from a full-spectrum product may likely be attributed to the interactions between constituents (though not yet fully explored). Chinese medicine has a long tradition of using full-spectrum water based extraction herbs to ensure their efficacy and safety. Further, it is believed that there are constituents in plants that should not be left out so as to avoid adverse or unwanted effects that may occur with selectivity of compounds --selectivity being the characteristic of standardized extractions. Plants contain an array of phytochemicals with internal complexity working together as important pieces to the puzzle. Consequently, standardization may concentrate one constituent at the expense of other potentially important ones, while changing the natural balance of the herb’s components. [3] 

Standardized Extraction
A standardized extract is made with an herbaceous plant's part(s), in a process of selectivity to extract one individual chemical or compound to produce a guaranteed amount, usually expressed as a percentage. This ensures that the isolated constituent will be present at the same potency from batch to batch. A full-spectrum's range of constituents may vary from batch to batch. Variances can be good in the case of plants that have antibacterial effects, for example, where the variance may be beneficial to "fool" the suspecting bacteria. But if you want to isolate a particular inactive glycoside to be activated for available chemical use (done by enzyme hydrolysis which causes the sugar part to be broken off)[2], then standardization would be the clear choice. 




References:

[1] Full-spectrum Extracts vs. Standardized Extracts. Brand, Eric (2010).
[2] Synthesis and Characterization of Glycosides. Brito-Arias, Marco (2007).
[3] Whole Herbs vs. Standardized Herbal Extracts: Which are Better?. Kosowski, M.S., LDN, Amy (2015).