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About
Us

The Aromatic Plant Research Center (APRC) is a state-of-the-art laboratory that utilizes a variety of methods to detect adulteration and confirm the purity of natural products. Our executive advisory board is internationally renowned for quality control testing and expertise within the aromatic plant industry.

APRC aspires to reimagine the natural products industry by conducting state-of-the-art quality testing, performing groundbreaking research, producing cutting edge publications, and creating unparalleled educational materials on aromatic plants and natural products. Our goal is to ensure that our clients have access to the most sophisticated and verified means of testing possible. This process includes compiling existing publications, interviewing experienced producers, conducting field research, gathering raw materials, improving distillation methods, advancing testing capabilities, discovering new chemotypes, and so forth. This research will further develop our understanding of the purest natural products in the world and will influence many publications soon to be available to the public as additional educational tools.

Executive

Board

Each board member is carefully selected from a variety of institutions with the goal to assemble the brightest minds from around the world. These doctorate-level individuals are the undisputed thought leaders in the essential oil industry and have dedicated their careers and research to the exploration of aromatic plants. The diversity of the Executive Board provides expertise well suited to answer questions on the quality of natural products and aromatic plants study, propagation, distillation, sustainability, and more.

 

In addition to verifying the highest quality natural products, the Executive Board is also on the cutting edge of aromatic plant research. Our world-class team has the ability to develop custom methods of analysis and are dedicated to discovering quality sourcing, and testing of aromatic plants and natural products.

In the 

Beginning

Aaron Sorensen and Dr. Prabodh Satyal, having worked in the essential oil industry for years, conceptually formulated the foundations of APRC. They saw a distinct need for a laboratory focused on aromatic plants and essential oil testing and research

Our
Leadership

Aaron Sorensen, MS

CEO, Owner 

 Aaron Sorensen is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Miami. He received undergraduate degrees in Chemistry and Material Engineering from the University of Utah and went on to receive a Master’s of Science from Colorado Tech.

Prabodh Satyal, Ph.D

CSO, Owner 

Dr. Prabodh Satyal is originally from Nepal where he worked as a lecturer in organic chemistry at Kathmandu University. He has studied the chemical composition of more than 10,000 essential oils from various parts of the world, has published more than 100 research articles in peer reviewed journals.

William Setzer, Ph.D

Senior Research Scientist

Will Setzer was born in Los Angeles, California. He received the B.S. degree in Chemistry from Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, California, in 1973, and the Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Arizona, Tucson, in 1981

Anjanette DeCarlo, Ph.D

Chief Sustainability Scientist

Dr. Anjanette DeCarlo is currently Chief Sustainability Scientist at the Aromatic Plant Research Center, where she conducts field research and ecological supply chain analysis on aromatic species. Dr. DeCarlo received her doctorate in Natural Resources and Environment

Brian Lawrence, Ph.D

Senior Research Scientist

Dr. Brian M. Lawrence was born in London, England, where he eventually worked as both a technician and as a chromatography lab manager in the pharmaceutical industry while pursuing a degree in Chemistry. 

APRC Timeline

ABOUT

We are the trusted source for research development and authentication of natural products.

  • How can Samples be Submitted?
    To submit a sample, you can email us at info@aromaticplant.org to request a sample submission form and quote for your samples.
  • Why APRC?
    APRC is the only testing and research company with a global presence that solely focuses on aromatic plants. We work with various global clients to ensure the purity of essential oils and expand research on aromatic plants. APRC has highly trained scientists who are able to detect minute adulteration. Adulteration can occur on any level of the supply chain, and distributors often don’t realize that they are selling adulterated oil. Without regulation of the industry, it is not surprising that experts estimate that 80% of essential oils on the market are adulterated. Our competitive pricing is matched by our turnaround time of 3-5 business days for testing. We have unique field research with a focus on sustainable practices that improve efficiencies in the industry. We have a variety of global clients who utilize our services to improve their own.
  • What is the business structure of APRC?
    APRC is independently owned and operated by CEO Aaron Sorensen and CSO Dr. Prabodh Satyal. All of our independent research is funded internally through our business structure as a privately held LLC. Occasionally, independent clients will contract us to conduct research, which they pay for.
  • Where are testing results for each company Posted?
    Each individual company has its own policy on testing results. APRC does not publish any results.
  • What is the process for testing samples?
    Once we receive a sample, it is entered into our manifest. A lab technician then preps the sample to be put on our GC-MS. The sample is loaded into the queue and will be tested in the order it was received. A GC-MS test takes two hours. Once the graph is generated by the GC, a chemist then analyzes the graph to determine if the oil meets the standards in its category. Depending on the needs of our client, we can also perform physical constant testing, LCMS, HPLC, GC-FID, micro, and other tests.
  • How long does it take to receive results?
    Once we receive samples at our lab in Lehi, Utah, it will take 3-5 business days to receive results.
  • Is APRC Research Published?
    All of our published research is on the publications tab of our website. We also have sustainability findings on the bottom of the sustainability page. Due to client confidentiality, we are unable to share the results of our testing unless authorized to do so. One resource to see our results is on the American College of Healthcare Science’s Apothecary Shoppe.
Green plants of all species

We are impressed by the quality of their services, in terms of advanced analytical tools and procedures, very sharp expertise, and quality of their trustworthy reports...

Vigon International, Inc.

Pierre-Jean Hellivan

Our partnership with APRC has been incredibly valuable. Not only are their scientists knowledgeable, they are willing to explain the details of their reports... 

Nature’s Distribution

Glen Miner, Owner

Working with APRC has enabled us to be very selective with our growers, harvesters, and distillers to bring the best quality essential oils to our customers...

doTERRA

Timothy Valentiner

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