Mycotoxins are toxins produced by moulds that grow on a crop in the field or in storage. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, reach plant material from the environment or from the way it is dried. Six checks to make on the mycotoxin and PAH rows of an extract specification.

A shelf life is the period in which a material is expected to stay within its specification, provided it is stored as stated. A retest date is not an expiry date: after a retest date the material is examined again before use, while after an expiry date it should not be used. Six checks to make on the shelf life and storage rows.

Loss on drying is the weight a sample loses when it is dried under stated conditions: water, and anything else that evaporates. Ash is what remains when the sample is burned, and a sieve row gives the share of the powder that passes a named sieve. Six checks to make on the physical rows.

An identification test compares a sample of the extract with a reference for the plant named on the specification. “Positive” or “complies” means that the two matched in that test. Six checks to make on the identification row.

A plate count is the number of colonies grown from a sample of the extract, calculated per gram. “Absent” means not found in the quantity that was tested. Six checks to make on the microbiological rows.

A UV assay counts everything that absorbs at one wavelength. HPLC separates the compounds first and counts the ones it names. Six checks to make before you compare two assay figures.

Metal limits are set element by element, for a named product. Pesticide limits are set for the raw plant, and extraction changes the figures. Six checks to make on these two rows.

The extraction solvent decides what comes out of the plant. The carrier is what goes into the powder besides the extract. Six checks to make on these two lines.

A specification says what a grade should be. A Certificate of Analysis says what one batch was found to be. Seven checks to make before you rely on one.

A 10:1 ratio states how much dried plant went into one part of extract. It does not state how strong the extract is. Six checks to make before you compare two ratios.

Two extracts can share a headline percentage and still be different materials. Seven checks to make on a specification, and what to send when you ask for a price.