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Ask an HerbalistSep 9, 2026
What does broad-spectrum mean?
We love talking about herbs and herbalism, and we especially love answering your questions about those topics. That's why we brought in our team of herbal experts to respond to some of the most common questions and concerns we hear.
Our herbalists have decades of combined experience working with herbs — and the people who take them. They answer your most pressing questions, in our regular column “Ask an Herbalist.”
What does broad-spectrum mean?
At Herb Pharm, we're proud to offer products that are broad-spectrum, but we understand not everyone knows what that means! In short, broad-spectrum means that we formulate our products to represent the whole plant as best as possible, rather than isolating single plant compounds (such as curcumin in Turmeric). Broad-spectrum means that we extract as wide a range of phytochemicals specific to that herb as possible. For our liquid herbal extracts, we use a customized extraction blend of solvents, such as alcohol, water, and/or glycerin. When formulating this unique liquid solvent blend (also known as the "menstruum"), we consider the plant part used and the solubility of that herb's compounds, allowing us to extract the widest array of phytochemicals. For example, Myrrh (Commiphora spp.) “tears” are hard, rock-like pieces of resin and therefore need a higher alcohol percentage in the menstruum to extract those resinous compounds. Other compounds like polysaccharides in roots like Asian Ginseng (Panax ginseng), require a lower percentage of alcohol in combination with water to extract those constituents. This customization for each herb ensures a high-quality and effective product.
A broad-spectrum extract can also be called a “whole herb extract,”, even though the plant part used may be just the berry or root of the herb, and not the entire plant.
Other brands may prefer to chemically isolate one particular constituent in a lab and provide that to customers. We believe that all the compounds in the plant have something to offer and work together to support our bodies and well-being. This is why we want to extract the largest range of phytochemicals possible to make a broad-spectrum extract.