This post series on botanical ingredient adulteration is inspired by the excellent work coming out of the Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program (BAPP) by the American Botanical Council (ABC), continuing today with:
➡️ English lavender essential oil, which is distilled from the flowering tops of Lavandula angustifolia and is widely used for its calming, floral aroma and broad therapeutic profile. It is inhaled or applied topically in diluted form to support relaxation, relieve mild anxiety, aid sleep, and soothe minor skin irritations and burns, with linalool and linalyl acetate identified as key contributors to its fragrance and functional activity.
On the market, English lavender oil appears in a wide range of products including aromatherapy oils, massage blends, sleep and “calm” sprays, and roll-ons. It is also an ingredient in cosmetics and personal care items such as creams, balms, shampoos, soaps, bath products, and fine fragrances, as well as selected foods and beverages like herbal teas, baked goods, candies, and vinegars where its floral note is desired.
For companies, confirming identity is not optional; it’s a legal and ethical duty under cGMPs to verify that each incoming botanical is the right species, the right plant part, and meets agreed quality specs. Brands and manufacturers should be leaning on resources like the BAPP adulteration bulletins and implementing fit-for-purpose analytical methods, rather than relying on nonspecific tests that can miss plant-part adulteration.
Adulteration, in the regulatory sense, means a product is unsafe or of inferior quality because it fails to meet legal standards for purity, strength, or composition (including contamination).
Economic adulteration is emphasized in these posts: intentional substitution, dilution, or undeclared additions that misrepresent a botanical’s true identity or quality compared to what the label and consumer would reasonably expect. Accidental adulteration is also present in some species.
For more detailed information on adulterants in botanicals, see the BAPP publications, which are freely available on their website.To see this full downloadable PDF post, go to LinkedIn: