So I was wondering if anyone knew the shelf life of an open jar of PM? I opened mine over a year ago when I first was planning on starting and then I got sick for a couple of weeks and didn't stay on it.
So that got me thinking about the shelf life of PM and if it decreases in effectiveness over time.

Anyone with any answers or input?

Good question and I doubt there is an answer out there. Even with brand new sealed bottles there are questions since this is an unregulated industry. How was the PM harvested? At what point in it's lifecycle? How long was it stored? What part of the plane was used? How old were the bottles when they were shipped to you?
Many of us has expressed concerns over the years that different batches may have different potency rates, according to all of these factors, but there is little that can be done. Without FDA oversight, there is nothing to go on other than what each company says it does... do you trust that? LOL
So, blindly we all stumble on in the dark, and hope for the best. Thankfully, even under these far less than perfect circumstances, many of us have had great results.
Sigh...
I hope that helps, honey.
Hugs

Hi Anna.

According to the label, the capsules I get from Ainterol have a shelf life of 3 years. As Samantha has mentioned, this is an unregulated industry though. You could always give it a try and go from there. When members aren't getting any results with a particular batch for a while, an issue of potency is oftentimes discussed. Unfortunately, I don't think there's a way to test the potency without taking it first.

The whole concept of shelf life is difficult, even for prescription pharmaceuticals. Most pharmaceutical developers are anxious to get their product to market as soon as possible, so they give a shelf life which may be far shorter than is really the case because extended shelf life assessment simply takes too long. When one comes to herbs, the problem is much more complex since not only is there inconsistency in the herb itself, but commonly a single herb has multiple active constituents whose resistance to deterioration may be highly variable. I would guess that the shelf life of the Ainterol product has not been tested any further than has that of many prescription drugs, and that the primary reason for the expiry date being applied is because customers expect the product to carry one. It stands to reason that an opened package will be less protected from its environment, but in an airtight container stored under reasonable temperature and humidity conditions a reasonable portion of the shelf life might be expected. Of course in the case of any user perceptible deterioration, the product should be dumped. I have just dumped some maca powder which had caked solid after a year at the bottom of a nominally airtight jar.

The inconsistency and complexity of herbs probably has a good deal to do with the mistrust with which they are regarded by much of the medical establishment.

Anna, as to your specific query, the opened jar, if of capsules, I would have thought you might as well use - it's not going to last very long in any case. If you have powder, then I might be slightly more suspicious, but if you have done no more than open it, and the container is full and has since remained tightly closed, I would have thought it should be OK.