Random product testing by federal regulators and the creation and strict
enforcement of minimum quality standards has been called for by the Australian
marketer of a German Ginkgo biloba product.
The call by Natural Health Products, the importer of EGb 761 Tebonin, follows the
revelation that six of 20 Ginkgo biloba listed medicines tested by the Therapeutic
Goods Administration had been found to be adulterated with chemicals that caused
them to appear to be of better quality than they actually were.
The problem is believed to have been caused by the importation of Chinese Ginkgo
biloba, which had been adulterated at source to allow the suppliers to charge top
dollar for rubbish.
NHP managing director John Waitzer said the only way to overcome the problem of
adulterated medicines was for the TGA to test at random products taken from
pharmacy shelves.
Mr Waitzer said he was disappointed by the TGA’s reported response to the
situation.
“There is the matter of people buying what is advertised as a Ginkgo biloba product
that in reality is so weak or so adulterated that it is of no therapeutic benefit,” Mr
Waitzer said.
“That’s misrepresentation, it’s ripping off the public.
“We believe that the TGA should be concerned with the quality and efficacy of all
listed medicines as a matter of vital public interest.”
Mr Waitzer called on the TGA to adopt for natural medicines a set of standards that
would dictate minimum standards for purity and potency.
He suggested that the TGA could save time and money if it looked to the German
Commission E standards as a model.
“The Germans have already done the work. There’s no sense in reinventing the
wheel,” Mr Waitzer said.
He said that his company’s Ginkgo biloba product, EGb 761 Tebonin, was
manufactured in Germany to strict purity and potency standards.
“That’s why you can find so much published research on Tebonin if you Google it,”
he said.
“Ginkgo biloba is a useful natural medicine, but there has to be enough potency for it
to have a therapeutic dose.
“The same applies to all medicines, whether they be over the counter or
prescription.”
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