Glossary · revised September 22, 2026
The words, and what they are actually worth
Every entry has two parts: what the term means when used correctly, and what it still permits a seller to do. The second part is the one that saves money.
Nothing here is specific to our products. It applies to any supplement label you pick up, ours included, which is the point.
A
Ascorbic acid, buffered
Vitamin C combined with a mineral salt, most often sodium or calcium, to reduce acidity. Useful information if acidity is your reason for choosing.
What it does not mean: that it is absorbed better or works differently. Buffering changes how it sits, not what it does.Assay
The laboratory measurement of how much of a stated ingredient is actually present in a sample.
What it does not mean: that the sample came from the batch you are holding. Ask which lot the assay covers.C
Certificate of analysis
A laboratory document reporting what a specific lot tested at, against specific panels, on a specific date.
What it does not mean: that it covers your lot, or that it tested for what you care about. A certificate for potency says nothing about heavy metals. Always check the lot number and the panel list.Cold pressed
Extracted without applied heat, which for delicate oils protects compounds that heat destroys.
What it does not mean: that it stayed cold afterwards. An oil cold pressed in March and stored warm until December is not a fresh oil.E
Excipient
Anything in the capsule that is not the active ingredient: binders, flow agents, the shell itself. They appear on the other-ingredients line.
What it does not mean: that they are inert for you. This line is where most allergy problems are found, and it is the line most often skipped.Expiry, or best before
The date to which the manufacturer stands behind the stated potency, given the storage on the label.
What it does not mean: that potency is constant until then and falls off a cliff after. It declines gradually, and faster if it was stored badly.O
Oxidation value
A measure of how far an oil has begun to spoil. Reported as peroxide and anisidine values, often combined into a total. Lower is fresher.
What it does not mean: anything at all unless you are told when it was measured. An oxidation figure without a date is a number, not a fact. See the freshness page.P
Potency at manufacture
How much active ingredient was present on the day the batch was made.
What it does not mean: how much is present now. For anything that degrades, this is the least useful of the available figures and the one most commonly printed.Proprietary blend
A group of ingredients declared under a single total weight rather than individually.
What it does not mean: that the mixture is balanced. The cheapest ingredient can legally be almost all of the total. We do not use them anywhere in the range.S
Standardised extract
An extract adjusted so that a named marker compound is present at a stated percentage, batch after batch.
What it does not mean: anything, if the marker and the percentage are missing. "Standardised" on its own is a word, not a specification.Serving size
The quantity all the figures on the panel refer to.
What it does not mean: one capsule. A panel showing an impressive figure per three-capsule serving is a different product from one showing it per capsule, and the bottle empties three times as fast.T
Third-party tested
Tested by a laboratory that is not the manufacturer, which removes the obvious conflict of interest.
What it does not mean: that your lot was tested, that the panel covered what concerns you, or that the result passed. The phrase alone commits a seller to almost nothing. Ask for the certificate.Using it
How to put this to work in a shop
- Turn the bottle around. Everything decided above is on the back.
- Read the serving size first, then divide every other figure by it.
- Look for a named marker and a percentage wherever you see "standardised".
- For any oil, look for an oxidation figure with a date attached. If there is none, treat the oil as of unknown age.
- Read the other-ingredients line in full before you buy, not after.
- Where a claim is made, ask which lot the certificate covers.