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The occurrence of triterpene pentacyclic acids in plants is extensive, but little is known about their availability in commercial extracts. A simple GC–MS method for the simultaneous determination of betulinic, corosolic, maslinic, oleanolic and ursolic acids was developed and applied to 38 different commercial plant extracts sold as ingredients for dietary supplements. A suitable protocol was set up to perform routine control of a diverse array of samples with different botanical, chemical and physical characteristics. Remarkable quantities of corosolic acid were found in dried extracts from aerial parts of Lagerstroemia speciosa and Ortosiphon stamineus (14233 and 1132mg/kg, respectively), while oleanolic acid was abundant in O. stamineus and Crataegus monogyna flowers (2774 and 2339mg/kg); ursolic was identified in O. stamineus, C. monogyna, L. speciosa and Arctostaphylos uva-ursi leaves (7773, 4165, 2108 …