Dietary Supplement Analytical Methods and Reference Materials Program (AMRM)

AMRM Home | AMRM Overview | AMRM Program Areas | Organizations & Resources | FAQ | Glossary

Analytical Methods for Dietary Supplements

Analytical methods program area focuses on the development and validation of analytical methods that can be used to verify dietary ingredient and label content claims, as tools to meet dietary supplement current good manufacturing practice requirements, and to determine the amounts of constituents of dietary supplements. Current method development efforts favor methods for analytes with high potential public health significance.

Method development

• Focus is on the development of methods to identify and quantify adulterants, natural toxins, pesticides and toxic elements.

Method validation 

• Method validation activities are coordinated by AOAC International through a stakeholder panel funded through a contract by ODS.  Information about the AOAC Stakeholder Panel on Dietary Supplements and ways to participate are available on the AOAC website.
• AOAC International has published guidelines for performing a single laboratory validation study for quantitive chemical methods for dietary supplements and guidelines for the validation of methods to identify botanical dietary supplements in the 2013 edition of the AOAC Official Methods of Analysis, Appendix K:  Guidelines for Dietary Supplements and Botanicals. 
• NIH Administrative supplements for support of single laboratory validation of quantitative analytical methods:  In an attempt to leverage basic biomedical research already supported by NIH and to capture and validate new methods when first developed, administrative supplements to certain active NIH awards may be obtained via PA 16-048 to support validation of quantitative analytical methods developed as part of the parent award.