Application of the Herbal Marker Ranking System (Herb MaRS) affords chemical markers for the standardization of medicinal plants used for male vitality herbal products

The concept of chemical markers in herbal products was introduced to address the lack of standardisation, which is a major obstacle to their wider acceptance and use. However, the selection of these markers has often been based on empirical observations rather than a systematic scientific approach. This study aimed to apply the Herbal Marker Ranking System (Herb MaRS) to identify the most suitable chemical markers for constituent plants of male vitality herbal products in Ghana, for quality control purposes. A cross-sectional survey of products from pharmacies and herbal shops was conducted. A desktop survey was performed on medicinal plants on the product labels, analysing their isolated compounds, bioactivity, toxicity, commercial availability, analytical methods, and concentration of compounds in the plant materials. Herb MaRS scoring assigned 0 or 2 points for sexual enhancing activity; 1 point for symptom management; 1–3 points for concentration of compound in the plant; and 1 point each for the commercial availability of reference standards and analytical methods. Compounds with toxic effects were assigned 8 points. Those that scored 8 were deemed the most suitable markers, while those scoring 4 were regarded as adequately suitable. The selected markers include macamides (Lepidium meyenii), reserpine (Rauvolfia vomitoria), ginsenosides Rb1 (Panax ginseng), ginsenosides Rg1 (Panax ginseng), quercetin, kaempferol, bilobalide, ginkgolides (Ginkgo biloba), asiaticoside, madecassoside, catechin (Centella asiatica), 6-shogaol and 6-gingerol (Zingiber officinale), representing suitable compounds for standardising products incorporating these plant materials. Herb MaRS is an effective tool for selecting chemical markers to ensure quality control of herbal products.