One of the goals of discovery science research is to ensure that Standard Process supplements contain the highest quality ingredients. Quality can be defined in a number of different ways including the presence of health promoting materials or the absence of undesirable contaminants. We work with our quality control department to assess both of these factors. While everyone at Standard Process works together to ensure that we use the best possible ingredients in our products, biological research strives towards this goal by learning more about the constituents and bioactivity of our products, and then developing ways to retain and improve this quality.

• Develop "fingerprints" for finished products and their individual whole food ingredients
  
  
  This means that for each product and whole food ingredient we measure as many phytochemicals or potential active ingredients as we can. This is a complementary approach to the science that occurs in our quality control department, which performs tests to ensure that our products meet label claims for specific nutrients. Whole foods contain a complex mixture of compounds, far more than those on the label, and scientists are constantly discovering beneficial properties of previously unknown compounds. We use this information to identify compounds present in our products and whole food ingredients that have links to improving health. By identifying additional compounds and thus further developing the fingerprints for our products, we gain knowledge about how our products support health and how to retain that activity.
• Assess how products and whole food ingredients are affected by environmental factors
  
  
  After gaining an understanding of the complex mixture of components present in our whole food ingredients, our research can examine how environmental factors affect our products. For example, with an understanding of the fingerprints, Standard Process can determine how farming conditions and manufacturing processes affect the whole food ingredients that make up our products. By doing this, we can ensure that we harvest at an optimal time and treat ingredients so as to preserve health promoting compounds.
• Demonstrate biological activity using various research models
  
  
  Using the knowledge about the complex mixtures of compounds present in our products and ingredients, we design experiments to test the biological activity of our finished products and the individual whole food ingredients they contain. Our current research focuses on in vitro models using cultured cells that model in vivo organ systems. We use these cultured cells to test the effects of our products and their whole food ingredients on different endpoints representing important biochemical functions. This research, in combination with the first two strategies, allows us to ensure that our products have as much biological activity as possible.

Through this approach, we are confident that we can assure that Standard Process products will remain the high quality supplements that our customers have come to expect. In addition to this, we believe that our research will support fundamental knowledge of food synergy and help advance the field of nutrition.