1. BIOAVAILABLE: Whole turmeric powder is poorly absorbed; therefore we have used the standardized extract to deliver curcumin more efficiently. To further enhance absorption we have added Bioperine®. Scientific studies show that the addition of Bioperine® improves curcumin absorption, increasing bioavailability to the body. Studies show that administration of 20mg of piperine along with 2 grams of curcumin increases the bioavailability of curcumin by 2000%.
2. BALANCED: The addition of whole organic Turmeric powder provides all the synergistic constituents such as turmerone and turmerin that have been removed in the standardized extract. Turmeric extracts and isolated curcumin have impressive pharmacological activity, but the precise mode of action is not fully understood. As with many other plants, we believe that the medicinal activity of Turmeric is a combination of several of its constituents.
3. PROVEN. Studies of the whole root have activity which is not seen with standardized extracts.
4. Studies show that whole Turmeric root increases the protective mucous in the gut.
5. A Japansese study shows that the liver protective activity is probably due to the sesquiterpenes (primarily, tumerone) rather than the curcumin.
6. Whole Turmeric root contains turmerin which is a water-soluble peptide with anti-oxidant properties.

What is the value of adding standardized extracts to herbal formulas?

We believe that the combination of both the standardized extract and the whole herb creates a more balanced formulation that combines the best of both traditional herbal knowledge and modern scientific research. We add the standardized extract only when we are assured of efficacy and safety of that specific extract. Each herb is assessed on an individual basis to investigate these two important factors:

• Efficacy: Most of the current scientific studies on herbal medicines have been done using standardized extracts. There are some standardized extracts for which clinical evidence is not compelling (perhaps because the wrong marker constituent has been chosen). Conversely, there are herbs, such as ginkgo, in which the research results for the standardized extract is impressive. In these cases we have added the extract in our product.
• Safety and Quality: Since the process of extracting an herb concentrates a certain constituent and reduces the other potentially synergistic constituents, the herb is transformed from an herb to a phytochemical. This results in a supplement which is very different from the traditional herbs that the human body has co-existed with over the millennia. Many herbalists believe that the loss of the synergistic constituents may compromise the safety and quality of the herb. Indeed, many standardized extracts do not have the same shelf life as their whole herb counterparts. We share this concern at Oregon's Wild Harvest and have selected only the standardized extracts that we can be assured are safe and stable as well as efficacious.

It is our mission to study whole herbs scientifically and compare them to standardized extracts. We are conducting studies in local academic and clinical institutions using our whole herb products.