Herbal Supplement Guides

Botanicals are the hardest category on this site to compare, because two bottles naming the same plant can be entirely different products. Turmeric may be root powder or a standardised curcumin extract. Ashwagandha is often a named extract with a stated withanolide percentage. Ginseng is one word covering several distinct species.

The figures that matter are the extract ratio, the standardisation percentage, and whether the milligram number on the front describes raw herb or concentrated extract. A 500 mg capsule of root powder and a 500 mg capsule of a 10:1 extract are not comparable, and the front label rarely tells you which you are holding. Where a product states a ratio, a percentage and a named preparation, it is telling you considerably more than one stating none.

This is also the section where safety information carries the most weight. Several widely sold botanicals interact with common medications — thyroid medication, anticoagulants, sedatives and immunosuppressants among them — and some have been the subject of regulatory safety reviews. Those guides say so plainly rather than burying it.

To compare products, the herbal supplement comparison filters by brand, strength, format and pack size.