Green tea extract (EGCG)

Thovek supplies green tea extract from the young, unfermented leaf and leaf bud of Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze, family Theaceae, standardised on total tea polyphenols and on (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), C22H18O11, molecular weight 458.37, CAS 989-51-5. EGCG is the dominant catechin of green tea and is accompanied in the assay by (-)-epigallocatechin, (-)-epicatechin-3-O-gallate and (-)-epicatechin. The USP monograph for Powdered Decaffeinated Green Tea Extract sets a useful reference frame even for non-USP grades: it defines the material at a 6:1 to 10:1 plant-to-extract ratio, with total catechins not less than 60.0% calculated as EGCG, EGCG not less than 40.0%, caffeine not more than 0.1% on the anhydrous basis, water not more than 6.0% and residue on ignition not more than 0.5%. Buyers should treat three variables as independent: total polyphenols, EGCG specifically, and caffeine. A grade sold as "green tea 98% polyphenols" may carry only around 50% EGCG, while an EGCG isolate at 90-98% is a different and far more expensive product with a different regulatory and tariff footprint. Decaffeination is the third axis - native leaf caffeine stays in the extract unless it is deliberately removed, and only a decaffeinated grade will meet the USP 0.1% limit, so the caffeine figure has to be specified rather than assumed. Catechins are light-sensitive and degrade at alkaline pH, so the powder should be held in opaque, tightly closed packaging and formulated on the acid side of neutral where colour and assay stability matter over shelf life. Two commercial points. First, the EU: Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2340, in force since 21 December 2022, restricts an individual portion of a food to below 800 mg of EGCG and requires foods containing green tea extract EGCG to declare the EGCG content per portion and the maximum number of portions per day, together with specific warning statements including that the product should not be consumed alongside other green tea products on the same day, and not by pregnant or lactating women or anyone under 18. Build that into artwork and dosing before you buy. Second, allergens and origin: the extract is plant-derived, vegan and vegetarian, with no milk, egg, soy, fish, crustacean, peanut, tree nut, sesame or gluten-bearing input, and no bovine, porcine or marine material; where a spray-drying carrier is used it is maize-derived maltodextrin, declared on the specification. Each lot ships with a CoA covering HPLC assay, caffeine, loss on drying, residue on ignition, heavy metals, residual solvents, pesticides and microbiology, with MSDS, allergen, non-GMO, halal and kosher documents on request.