Guduchi Satva (Tinospora cordifolia starch)

Guduchi Satva is the starchy sediment obtained when crushed stems of Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Hook.f. & Thomson, family Menispermaceae, are macerated in water, filtered and left to settle. It is a classical single-drug Ayurvedic preparation in its own right and it is deliberately not the same product as a Guduchi extract standardised on bitters. Published phytochemical screening of satva prepared across six seasons found alkaloids, carbohydrates and starch present, while glycosides, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, phenols, proteins and steroids were absent. Buyers who need a defined tinosporaside, cordifolioside or magnoflorine assay should order a Tinospora cordifolia extract instead; buyers who need the traditional satva should not expect one. Getting this distinction into the purchase specification prevents the most common rejection on this material. Satva is characteristically cream to greenish white, with fine starch grains and traces of crystal fibres, vessel elements, parenchyma and cork cells visible microscopically. Root-derived satva is pure white while stem-derived satva runs slightly greyish to greenish. Season drives both yield and character: yield is highest in Shishira Ritu (January to February) and lowest in Grishma (May to June), monsoon Varsha material is greenish white, slightly bitter and carries the specific smell of Guduchi juice while other seasons give essentially tasteless and odourless material, and total alkaloid content runs somewhat higher in Varsha and Vasanta. Thovek states the collection season on the certificate of analysis so that buyers can hold colour and taste consistent across repeat orders rather than discovering the variation in production. Raw material authentication is the other governing quality risk. DNA barcoding of raw drug markets in southern India has found that roughly 20% of traded Guduchi stem is not authentic T. cordifolia but a substitute or adulterant, with T. sinensis the closest and hardest to spot because its phytochemical profile is comparable. Thovek authenticates incoming stem botanically and, on request, releases a DNA-barcode identity report with the lot. The material is a plant starch with no milk, egg, soy, fish, crustacean, gluten or nut input, is vegan and vegetarian, and carries no bovine, porcine or marine material. Composition and food-technology function only are described; no therapeutic or disease claim is made.