Products & Services > Processing Steps

KP owes its success to the consistent and reliably high quality products, derived from unmatched quality assurance protocols in our production process.

Herb Selection and Identification
In particular, KP far exceeds the standards set by governments to ensure complete safety and authenticity of its product line. KP has led the industry in improving standards for herb identification and authenticity.
KP is always improving its ID protocols. An on-staff botanist at the manufacturing site helps ensure quality and accuracy. Some of the features of this accurate herb identification protocol include:

Macroscopic inspection by qualified experts to “weed out” commonly substituted herbs
Microscopic examination to ascertain species authenticity
TLC (Thin Layer Chromatography), a chemical “fingerprint” unique to each species

Herb Cleansing and Extraction
After each herb has been properly identified, they are thoroughly cleaned and prepared. They are picked through, washed, and agitated according to a specific protocol for each herb. After all foreign materials have been meticulously removed, the ingredients are assembled and cooked together in a vat called a rotary extractor. A continuous rotary motion thoroughly mixes the decoction liquid with strict control of the extraction temperature and timing. This unique extractor includes a KP-patented essential oil retrieval system. This retrieval system allows the vat to capture and preserve the volatile oils, which are reintroduced later in the granulation phase

This unique extractor includes a
KP-patented essential oil retrieval system,
which allows the vat to capture and preserve
the volatile oils, which are reintroduced later
in the granulation phase.

Herb Concentration
Once extraction is complete, a valve is opened in the rotary extractor and the decoction flows directly into a state-of-the-art low-temperature vacuum evaporation-concentration system. This low-temperature system eliminates the damaging effects that high temperatures can have on formula potency.

Granulation and Tableting
From the concentration chambers the herbs, now in the form of a viscous liquid, are piped into a flow coater. The closed and automated system prevents the possibility of cross-contamination. Here, The flow coater (granulator) sprays the concentrate onto minute particles of base material and dries them to create concentrated granules. In the vast majority of our formulas, the base material consists of powdered herbs from the ingredients of the formulas themselves. Occasionally, when the formula has an especially cloying nature, some non-GMO potato starch is used. Potato starch is chosen because it is hypoallergenic and available in non-GMO form, unlike the cornstarch commonly used by other processing facilities. The granules are later precisely measured and pressed into smooth tablets for easy swallowing.

Theflow coatersprays the concentrate onto
minute particles of its own herb
in powdered form and dries them to create
concentrated granules.

Laboratory Testing
A series of high-precision laboratory tests checks samples from each batch to assure potency and safety. These tests include:

Microbiological assays are used to screen for E. coli, salmonella, and various other possible bio-contaminants such as molds and yeasts.
GC (Gas Chromatography) ensures safety by testing for the presence of over 200 potentially harmful substances such as pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides.
HPLC (High Pressure Liquid Chromatography) measures potency by substantiating the presence of active ingredients.
ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry) is the future of non-organic (heavy metal) testing. Other systems in use today are sensitive to subparts per million (ppm), but the ICP-MS can detect elements in the subparts per billion (ppb) range and some elements in the subparts per trillion (ppt) range. ICP-MS technology is by far the most precise and sensitive available for heavy metal testing. Samples from every lot of our tablets are sent out to an independent laboratory here in the United States where they are tested for heavy metals by ICP-MS.

Appearance and Lot Numbers
Like other plant crops, herbs vary in quality season to season and year to year. We produce our herbal extracts in batches and we assign each batch a unique lot number, which is printed on our bottles for tracking purposes. The appearance of our tablets may vary slightly from batch to batch, owing to natural variation in color, texture, and aroma in our source herbs.