In the KOTTAS PHARMA Labatory

Behind the Scenes

For us, natural products and laboratories are not a contradiction in terms, but are inextricably linked. At KOTTAS PHARMA, we combine traditional herbal medicine with modern laboratory technology to create a unique promise of quality. The high effectiveness of our herbs is no coincidence, but the result of rigorous monitoring at every stage of the production process. From careful herb selection to final quality control, we rely on precise analytical procedures. This ensures the purity and effectiveness of our products.

Join us on a short journey of discovery into the world of science in this blog post! We will open the doors of our in-house laboratory and provide an exciting insight into the work of our QA team.

From the Field to the Lab

Vienna Mauer, Endresstraße: Here, at our production site in the idyllic south of Vienna, is one of the most exciting and at the same time most important departments at Kottas Pharma – our quality assurance, including our own laboratory. Every single batch of our growing product range undergoes a rigorous testing process at this site, which allows no compromises. In this dynamic environment, where the spirit of research, curiosity and creativity come together, we are constantly working to exceed our customers’ expectations. Our laboratory is the engine of our product development and the starting point for numerous innovations.

It has also been the workplace of Dr Oliver Vendl for 13 years now. A recognised expert in the effects and composition of medicinal herbs, he heads up our quality assurance department. After graduating with a degree in biology, he completed his doctorate at the Department of Pharmacognosy at the University of Vienna, where he first became intensively involved with the topic of plant constituents. He then worked as a postdoc in the field of food analysis, including, for example, in the UK, before joining Kottas in 2011. Thanks to his additional training in pharmaceutical quality management, he is authorised to approve products for the pharmaceutical market as a Qualified Person. Dr Vendl is also a member of the expert group for the Austrian Pharmacopoeia, the national supplement to the European Pharmacopoeia. In this role, he is involved in the development of monographs and quality testing procedures.

Running our own laboratory is essential for us as a manufacturing company in the pharmaceutical sector. It enables us to react flexibly to legal requirements and our customers’ ideas. We are obliged to personally ensure that our products comply with the strict requirements of the European Pharmacopoeia. In addition to the tests we carry out ourselves, we also have tests carried out by accredited external laboratories.

Our work with medicinal herbs requires close co-operation with the authorities. AGES (Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety) and the Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) regularly subject our company to comprehensive inspections. This takes the form of audits carried out directly at our company as well as ongoing market reviews. When introducing new medicinal teas, we also undergo a complex authorisation and registration procedure. After all, when it comes to human health and the effects of medicinal plants, comprehensive testing is essential. For more than 200 years, it has been a matter close to our hearts to offer our customers herbal products of the best possible product quality and safety. Our QA team makes a significant contribution to this.

Quality Requires Control

We have been working with experienced herb farmers and wild collectors for generations. From these reliable partners, we receive high-quality goods from sustainable cultivation or directly from nature. Quality, active ingredient content and flavour always depend on the specific conditions under which the plants thrive. However, the best growing conditions alone are no guarantee that a plant will contain certain ingredients in the required quantities. This is why the thorough examination of the samples we receive and the herbs we deliver later is a central component of our quality assurance.

You can find more information on the sourcing and preserving of our herbs in a separate article.

Regardless of which herb is involved, three aspects play a central role in the test: identity, purity and active ingredient content. In this context, the pharmacopoeia prescribes how testing should be carried out and which results are permissible. There are monographs for medicinal plants – scientific profiles, so to speak, which contain all the tests required. We work through these in our laboratory, point by point, as if using a checklist.

Thanks to our well-coordinated team and the modern equipment in our laboratory, the main tests can be carried out within one to two days. Although various test procedures usually run in parallel, our experienced QA staff never lose sight of the big picture. An enormous range of analytical methods are used to carefully analyse the more than 600 medicinal herbs in the Kottas range.

Only herbs that meet all the requirements are then processed in our production facility. But before the journey continues here, a detailed botanical ‘passport check’ is carried out. In the first step of the inspection, our experts check the identity of the goods on hand. Occasionally, wild collections lead to confusion between related species or simply visually similar plants. The dried flowers of different lavender species, for example, can only be distinguished from one another on the basis of the ingredient profile using complex test methods. In other cases, however, the scrutinising glance of our experts is enough to determine the identity of a medicinal herb.

The second decisive quality feature of our medicinal plants is their purity. Dr Vendl and his team must ensure that the herbs they receive are free from impurities. This includes analysing for harmful residues such as pesticides or biogenic pollutants, such as toxic plant constituents.

When it comes to medicinal products, the content of active ingredients is the most important criterion. In this respect, we differ from other tea producers: In addition to the origin and visual quality of the medicinal plants, the material composition is particularly essential for us. This is why Dr Vendl and the quality assurance department focus on the ingredients of our herbs. The monographs clearly specify how high the proportion of certain active ingredients must be in each individual medicinal plant. For us as a manufacturer of medicinal teas, it is also essential that we can guarantee the effectiveness until the end of the best-before date.

Needless to say, flavour is not overlooked in our food and medicinal teas. Sensory evaluation is an integral part of our rigorous testing process. This enables us to guarantee our customers a unique flavour experience and efficacy that can be tasted.