Ellagic Acid

Ellagic acid is the dilactone of hexahydroxydiphenic acid, a fused aromatic oxygen heterocycle with the formula C14H6O8 and a molecular weight of 302.19 (PubChem CID 5281855, CAS 476-66-4). It rarely occurs free in plants in quantity; instead it is liberated by hydrolysis of ellagitannins such as punicalagin and geraniin. That chemistry drives the sourcing: pomegranate (Punica granatum) peel and husk, gallnut from Quercus infectoria and Rhus chinensis, oak, walnut hulls and the ellagitannin-rich berries, with yellow raspberry and pomegranate among the densest reported dietary sources. Thovek supplies the purified compound assayed by HPLC-UV, and separately the pomegranate peel extract standardised on a declared percentage of ellagic acid, which is a different article with a different tariff treatment. Handling deserves attention because ellagic acid is stubbornly insoluble. Reported water solubility is under 1 mg/mL, it is only slightly soluble in alcohol, practically insoluble in ether, and dissolves readily in aqueous alkali and in pyridine; it does not melt cleanly, with the Merck Index reporting above 360 C. Commercial material is commonly a hydrate. Formulators therefore reach for it in dry blends, two-piece capsules and tablets rather than clear beverages, and where dispersion matters they use micronised or solid-dispersion grades, alkaline-assisted dissolution, or co-processing with solubilisers. The powder is off-white to cream or pale beige at high purity, tending pale yellow to tan as assay drops. Ellagic acid is also the substrate from which gut microbiota generate urolithins, which is why brands specify it alongside pomegranate ellagitannin material. Allergen and origin declarations here turn entirely on feedstock, and getting this wrong is a recall risk. Pomegranate-derived and gallnut-derived material is vegan, vegetarian, non-GMO and free of milk, egg, soy, fish, crustacean and gluten. Gallnut is an insect-induced plant gall on oak or sumac and is not a tree nut, despite the name, so it triggers no tree nut declaration. Walnut-hull-sourced material is a different matter and must be declared as tree nut on the buyer's label. Thovek states the botanical source and part used on every CoA so the declaration can be built correctly. Documentation includes CoA with HPLC chromatogram, MSDS, allergen, GMO and BSE/TSE statements, heavy metals, pesticide residue, residual solvent and microbiology results. No therapeutic or disease claim is made for this ingredient; claim substantiation and destination-market regulatory status, including novel food status for isolated compounds in some jurisdictions, rest with the brand owner.