While there are undoubtedly benefits from aronia berries, one of the reasons that so many clinical studies use aronia extracts is that the berries themselves have a bitter taste. In order to make them palatable, you’d need to blend the berries with a high quantity of sugar, which would likely diminish any health gains from the botanical and would add unwanted calories, as well. Additionally, your intake of compounds would vary greatly depending on when and where the berries were harvested. That’s why an aronia extract standardized for 40 percent polyphenols is a better choice; you get a consistent level of beneficial compounds in a convenient form.

The French grape seed extract VX1® in this formula provides only low-molecular weight OPCs, including a complex mixture of flavanolic monomers (catechin, epicatechin, epicatechin gallate) and flavanolic oligomers (dimers, trimers, and tetramers) which are highly absorbable to support optimal health.* The OPCs found in many other grape seed extracts have high molecular weight so they can't be absorbed and provide little health benefits.

Adulteration of grape seed extracts – that is, the practice of including unlisted ingredients that aren’t really grape seed extract to bulk out the supplement – is an unfortunately widespread practice. In fact, an investigation published in the journal Food Chemistry in 2015 found some alarming results. After testing 21 commercially available products, they found that 50 percent were subpotent extracts or contained no grape seed at all. Only 6 were potent grape seed extracts 9 were extremely low potency – barely any OPCs, potentially grape seed mixed with peanut skin 6 had NO grape seed extract, and were entirely peanut skin extract, which could be potentially harmful for individuals with allergies That’s not something you have to worry about with our French Grape Seed Extract VX1. It is verified and guaranteed to ensure that what is listed on the label is in the supplement. Source: Villani TS, Reichert W, Ferruzzi MG, Pasinetti GM, Simon JE, Wu Q. Chemical investigation of commercial grape seed derived products to assess quality and detect adulteration. Food Chem. 2015 Mar 1;170:271-80.