Version	1	/	Date	of	Issue:	10.29.15	/	Issuing	Authority:	Forensic	Science	Standards	Board	(FSSB)

OSAC	Research	Needs Assessment Form

Title	of	research	need:

Keywords:

Submitting subcommittee(s): Date	Approved:

(If	SAC	review	identifies	additional	subcommittees,	add	them	to	the	box	above.)

Background	information:

1.	 Description	of	research	need:

2.	 Key	bibliographic	references	relating	to	this	research	need:

One	of	the	lesser	understood	areas	in	Forensic	Toxicology	surround	both	the	analytical	and	

interpretive	aspects	of	toxicants	in	herbal	and	dietary	supplements.		These	products	present	clear	

dangers	to	public	health	and	safety	and	have	been	used	for	self-harm	and	purposeful	harm	to	

others,	including	homicide.		As	there	are	no	regulatory	controls	over	such	products,	the	

composition	of	these	materials	is	often	unknown	or	not	consistent	with	labeling.		Non-controlled

production	can	result	in	opportunistic	toxic agents.	Many	toxicological emergencies	and	deaths	

have	resulted	from	human	exposures	to	these	products.		Plants	contain	some	of	the	most	toxic	

substances	known	to	man.		For the	most	part,	many	of	the	individual	natural	product	constituents	

found	in	plants lack	analytical	methods	and	interpretive	guidance.	Sub-populations	particularly	

affected	by	these	aggregate	substances	include	individuals	with	particular	vulnerabilities,	such	as	

children,	elders, and	those	with	preexisting	pathologies.

1. Herbal	Products:	Toxicology	and	Clinical	Pharmacology.	TS	Tracy	and	RL	Kingston	(Eds).	

Human	Press,	Totowa,	NJ	(2007).

2. Phua	DH,	Zosel	A,	Heard	K.	Dietary	supplements	and	herba	medicine	toxicities	– When	to	

anticipate	them	and	how	to	manage	them	(2009).		Int	J	Emerg	Med;	2(2):	69-76.

3. Haneef	J,	et	al.	Analytical	methods	for	the	detection	of	undeclared	synthetic	drugs	in	

traditiojal	herbal	medicines	(2013).		Drug	Testing	Analysis;	5:	607-613.

4. Gaillard	Y,	Pepin	G.	Poisoning	by	plant	material:	Review	of	human	cases	and	analytical	

determination	of	main	toxins	by	high-perfomance	liquid	chromatography-(tandem)	mass	

spectrometry	(1999).	J	Chrom	B:	Biomed	Sci	App;	733(1-2):	181-229.

5. Elliott	SP.	A	case	of	fatal	poisoning	with	taconite	plant:	Quantitative	analysis	in	biological	

fluid	(2002);	42(2):	111-115.

Herbal	and	Dietary	Supplements	and	Plant-based	Toxins

Herbal,	Dietary,	Supplements,	Plants,	Toxins

Toxicology 1/26/16
Version	1	/	Date	of	Issue:	10.29.15	/	Issuing	Authority:	Forensic	Science	Standards	Board	(FSSB)

3a.		In	what	ways	would	the	research	results	improve	current	laboratory	capabilities?

3b.		In	what	ways	would	the	research	results	improve	understanding	of	the	scientific	basis	for	the	

subcommittee(s)?

3c.		In	what	ways	would	the	research	results	improve	services	to	the	criminal	justice	system?

4.		Status assessment	(I,	II,	III,	or	IV):		 Major gap	

in	current	

knowledge

Minor gap	

in	current	

knowledge

No	or	limited

current	research	

is	being	

conducted

I III

Existing current	

research	is	being	

conducted

II IV

Such	research	will	assist	in	the	determination	of	poisoning,	both	accidental	and	purposeful,	in	cases	

of	known	or	unknown	exposure	to	herbal	and	dietary	supplements	and	plants.		Specific	analytical	

broad-based	strategies	using	routinely	applied	processes	would	be	the	expected	outcome.		Once	

identified,	the	effects	of	the	toxicants	in	the	outcome	of	an	individual could	be	elucidated.

This	particular	research	would	allow	the	subcommittee	to	develop	a	scientific	basis	for	standard or	

guideline production	in	the	specific	areas	of	herbal,	dietary	supplement	and	plant-based	analyses	

and	toxicity interpretations.		Existing	literature	demonstrates	only	general	discussion	or	casespecific	issues	without	addressing	applicable	techniques for	identifying	agents	of	value	in	forensic	

toxicological	evaluations.		Without	such	a	process,	exposure	of	individuals	to	such	agents	will	only	

be	identified	through	situational	history	and	will	continue	to	challenging.

Poisoning	cases involving	herbal	products, dietary	supplements and	plant-based	toxins	are

underreported.	The	inability	of	laboratories	to	respond	to	requests	for	exposures	to	herbal	and	

dietary	supplements	and	plant-based	toxins	contributes to	this	underreporting.	The	herbal	and	

dietary	supplement	market	in	the	U.S.	and	elsewhere	is	a	multi-billion	dollar	industry,	yet	there	is	

little	regulatory	oversight.	Further, product	analyses	demonstrated	that	labeling	often	doesn’t	

comport	with	identified	active	components.		Plant-based	exposures	are	both	accidental	and	

purposeful	intent	to	do	harm.		Only	through	the	availability	of	broad-based	analytical	assays	will	

there	be a	direct	laboratory	response	to	this	current	threat	to public	health	and	safety.

I
Version	1	/	Date	of	Issue:	10.29.15	/	Issuing	Authority:	Forensic	Science	Standards	Board	(FSSB)

This	research	need	has	been	identified	by	one	or	more	subcommittees	of	OSAC	and	is	being	provided	as	an	

informational	resource	to	the	community.

// Approval	date:

(Approval	is	by	majority	vote	of	subcommittee.		Once	approved,	forward	to	SAC.)

1.		Does	the	SAC	agree	with	the	research	need?				Yes					 							No							⃝		

2.		Does	the	SAC	agree	with	the	status assessment?				Yes															No							⃝	

If	no,	what	is	the	status assessment	of	the	SAC:

Approval	date:

(Approval	is	by	majority	vote	of	SAC.		Once	approved,	forward	to	NIST	for	posting.)

Subcommittee

SAC