Tokyo, Japan) published the first analysis of commercial GFSE and reported that preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) led to identification of methyl p-hydroxybenzoate, a preservative, and triclosan, a microbicide and disinfectant. In 1991, a collaboration led by Nishina (Food Research Laboratory, Nippon Oil and Fats Co. For example, in the case of one of the leading branded consumer products labeled as containing “grapefruit seed extract,” this process has not been fully disclosed or explained in any publicly available literature, but is claimed to involve a multistep process that includes boiling ground, dried seeds and pulp in water, then “…distillation, catalytic conversion and ammoniation…” 4 to yield GFSE, the active ingredient of which “…is a quaternary ammonium chloride (a diphenol hydroxybenzene reacted with ammonium chloride) similar to benzethonium chloride…”. 2,3 Much of the commercially available GFSE is produced via proprietary methods that purportedly involve the use of catalytic processes and the addition of solvents and/or other chemicals. GFSE, supposedly an extract of the seeds of the common grapefruit ( Citrus x paradisi, Rutaceae), has been touted in popular literature as a natural antimicrobial agent for both topical and internal use, including, but not limited to, eczema, acne, cold sores, athlete’s foot, sore throats, thrush, vaginal infections, colds, various gastrointestinal disorders and infections, allergies, and gingivitis. Material called “grapefruit seed extract” (GFSE 1) has been sold in the natural products market for 3 decades or more as an ingredient in or preservative for cosmetic and dermatological preparations and also in dietary supplements.
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