Standardisation is a measurement used to ensure that the quality of a herbal medicine is controlled. When you are out looking at tonic herbs in the market place, you might see on their labels something like “reishi extract standardised to 10% polysaccharides (37 mg)” or “ashwagandha standardised for 4% withanolides (20mg)”. 

With a standardised product, generally the benefit is short lived, as it is acting more like a pharmaceutical drug within the body. Using Ashwagandha as the example here, the majority of ashwagandha extracts on the market today are standardised to contain around 2-20% withanolides as the active ingredient (ours is around 1.5%). This approach is suited to those working clinically, with a pharmacological mindset and approach, with the intention to treat dis-ease.

Here at SuperFeast we specialise Di Dao grown herbs, we follow both the herbal lore and the science behind a herbs medicinal use and action within the body. Our view is one of holism and we believe in the medicinal value of the whole herb rather than the some of its parts.

In this regard we don’t allocate our resources to standardising our products.

With full-spectrum herbal extracts, such as the those we exclusively work with, we are providing medicine perfectly created by nature. Our intention is to create products that can be easily integrated into the daily diet, those that carry a medicinal benefit to the body, mind and spirit, long term.

The medicinal value of many of the herbs we work with (like ashwagandha, reishi and lion’s mane) have been extensively studied. For example, contemporary literature suggests that it is the withanolides present in ashwagandha that are responsible for the multitude of its beneficial actions within the body. Similarly, the polysaccharides in reishi and other medicinal mushrooms are very well researched for their multiple health benefits. 

Standardising for isolated constituents requires a lot of human intervention. When we are using something long term, such as adaptogens, tonic herbs and medicinal mushrooms, we want to produce a potent product that requires minimal intervention from the point of harvest to the point of consumption. This is aligned with our earth friendly ethos and our respect for the lore of the land and the planetary kingdom.

Daoist (or Taoist) tonic herbalism aims not to treat illness or disease but to utilise plant medicines to create an environment in the body where states of ill health are less likely to occur. Once you start synthetically isolating certain compounds in a herb, you begin to alter the natural constituent ratio; you alter the medicine. This interferes with the innate wisdom of the herb and its ability to unfurl healing within the organs and meridian systems of the body. Reducing the herbs capacity to work with you long term.

We hope this demonstrates our position here at SuperFeast. If you have any queries at all, please reach to to us at team@superfeast.com.au or 1300 769 500 for a chat.

Mason Taylor, founder of SuperFeast, on his latest trip to China, where your SuperFeast herbs are sourced Di Dao (Di Tao) - from their spiritual homeland