Kantakari Extract (Solanum)

Kantakari is the yellow-berried nightshade, correctly Solanum virginianum L. (family Solanaceae), the same plant that older Indian trade literature and pharmacopoeial texts call Solanum xanthocarpum Schrad. & J.C.Wendl. or Solanum surattense Burm. f. All three names describe one species, and buyers should expect to see them used interchangeably on Indian documentation. The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India defines Kantakari on the mature dried whole plant, with raw-herb limits of total ash not more than 9%, acid-insoluble ash not more than 3%, alcohol-soluble extractive not less than 6% and water-soluble extractive not less than 16%. Thovek supplies the concentrated extract of that authenticated whole-plant material, not the crude churna. The characteristic constituents are steroidal glycoalkaloids and their aglycone solasodine (CAS 126-17-0, C27H43NO2, MW 413.65), together with sterols. Commercial standardisation in the Indian trade is normally expressed as total alkaloids 1.0–2.5% by gravimetry, and Thovek releases each lot on that basis with solasodine additionally confirmed by HPLC or HPTLC as an identity marker. Simple 4:1 and 10:1 native ratio extracts are offered where a formulator wants the full native profile rather than an alkaloid target. Because gravimetric alkaloid values and chromatographic solasodine values quantify different things, the purchase specification should state which one governs acceptance — this is the single most common source of dispute on this ingredient. Material is of wholly plant origin and vegan: free of milk, egg, soy, fish, crustacean, tree nut, peanut, sesame and gluten inputs, with no animal-derived processing aids. Two handling points matter commercially. First, Solanaceae glycoalkaloids are the reason the alkaloid figure is controlled rather than maximised, and finished-product dosing should be set against the alkaloid content on the incoming CoA, not against extract weight. Second, prickly whole-plant raw material is prone to adulteration with related Solanum species, so Thovek runs botanical authentication with an HPTLC fingerprint against a reference herbarium sample on every incoming consignment before extraction begins.