Guggul Extract (Commiphora wightii)

Guggul is the oleo-gum-resin tapped from the stem bark of Commiphora wightii (Arn.) Bhandari, still widely traded under its synonym Commiphora mukul. Thovek supplies it as a food-grade ethanol extract of the cleaned gum-resin, standardised to not less than 2.5% total guggulsterones (the E and Z isomers of C21H28O2, MW 312.45) by HPLC, with 1.5%, 5% and 10% grades made to order. A guggulipid grade — the ethyl acetate fraction, around 40% by gravimetry — is available where a formulator is matching an older specification. Read the assay method before you compare prices. UV spectrophotometry and HPLC give materially different guggulsterone numbers on the same lot, and UV consistently reads higher because it picks up co-absorbing resin constituents. A 10% UV grade is not a 10% HPLC grade. We will quote either, but for a label claim that has to survive a third-party check we recommend buying against HPLC and naming the method on the purchase order and the specification sheet. Extraction uses food-grade ethanol only, with residual solvents controlled to ICH Q3C and USP <467>. The regulatory position changed recently and buyers need to plan for it. Commiphora wightii was listed in CITES Appendix II at CoP20 under Annotation #19, in force from 5 March 2026. The annotation captures extracts — including gums, resins and essential oils — and powder, exempting only finished products packaged and ready for retail trade such as tablets, capsules, pills and cosmetics. A bulk extract shipment is therefore in scope and moves against a CITES export permit issued by India's CITES Management Authority on a non-detriment finding, so build permit lead time into your order. India separately restricts export of raw wild-collected guggul gum while permitting value-added extracts and formulations. We document cultivated and sustainably tapped source material at lot level; confirm your own import permit position with your national CITES authority before ordering. The material itself is plant-derived, vegan and free of declarable allergens — note only that classically shodhita guggul grades are processed with cow's milk and cow ghee and must be declared as milk-containing, which our solvent-extracted grade is not.