Elderberry Extract

Elderberry extract is made from the ripe fruit of Sambucus nigra L., the European black elder (family Viburnaceae, formerly placed in Adoxaceae and Caprifoliaceae). Its commercial value sits in the anthocyanin fraction: cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (kuromanin, C21H21ClO11 as the chloride, MW 484.84, CAS 7084-24-4) and cyanidin-3-O-sambubioside together account for the great majority of total anthocyanins in S. nigra fruit, reported at roughly 66% and 32% respectively, with cyanidin-3,5-diglucoside and cyanidin-3-sambubioside-5-glucoside making up the remainder. Thovek offers the extract standardised on total anthocyanins by UV at 5%, 10%, 15% and 25%, and against HPLC-Vis at 535 nm where the buyer's specification calls for the individual glycosides. A USP-aligned grade is available for brands writing to the USP-NF European Elder Berry Dry Extract monograph, which requires not less than 17% total anthocyanosides as the sum of the four cyanidin glycoside chlorides and not more than 0.2% free cyanidin on the anhydrous basis. Only destemmed, fully ripe fruit is used. Leaf, bark, green stem and unripe berry are excluded, and the fruit is thermally processed before and during extraction, which is the step that deals with the type-2 ribosome-inactivating lectins (SNA group) and the cyanogenic glycoside sambunigrin that raw elder carries; published work reports sambunigrin reductions of 44% to 96% depending on the heat load applied. Elderberry is also among the most heavily economically adulterated botanicals in the trade, because authentic extract can cost many times more than the anthocyanin-rich material used to fake it. Every lot is authenticated by HPTLC and by HPLC-Vis anthocyanin fingerprint against genuine S. nigra fruit and screened for the substitutions named in the 2023 BAPP bulletin: black rice (Oryza sativa) extract, purple or black carrot, aronia, black bean skin, rutin-rich extracts and undeclared synthetic dyes such as Brilliant Blue FCF and Amaranth. The extract is vegan and vegetarian, of plant origin only, with no milk, egg, soy, fish, crustacean or nut input; it is gluten-free, and where a maltodextrin carrier is used it is maize-derived and stated on the specification so the buyer's allergen matrix stays accurate. Anthocyanins are light-, heat- and pH-sensitive, so the powder must be held cool, dry and protected from light, and formulators should expect the characteristic red shift in acidic drink bases. Thovek publishes composition and food-technology data only; any nutrition or health claim on the finished pack is the brand owner's responsibility under the rules of the destination market.