Kokum Extract (Garcinia indica)

Kokum extract is made from the dried fruit rind of Garcinia indica (Thouars) Choisy, a Clusiaceae tree of the Konkan coast and the Western Ghats; the Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri crop has carried a registered Geographical Indication since March 2016. Buyers should note at the outset that kokum is not Garcinia cambogia (G. gummi-gutta), the species that dominates the commodity HCA trade. The two are routinely conflated in the market, and material sold as "kokum" is frequently cambogia; Thovek supplies genuine G. indica with botanical identity confirmed per lot. The rind carries (−)-hydroxycitric acid at roughly 20–30% on a dry basis, alongside the polyisoprenylated benzophenones garcinol and isogarcinol, xanthochymol, ascorbic acid, and the anthocyanins cyanidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin-3-sambubioside that give the rind its deep red-purple colour. Free hydroxycitric acid lactonises readily when an extract is concentrated, so the commercial standard is a salt rather than the free acid. Thovek offers the calcium salt and the freely water-soluble calcium–potassium salt at 50% and 60% HCA, with a free-acid grade where a formulation demands it. Assay is by HPLC, and total HCA and HCA lactone are determined and reported separately: a single combined figure silently inflates the active fraction and is a common source of dispute on incoming inspection. Two other routes into the same raw material are available. A garcinol-standardised grade at 10–20% serves antioxidant and oral-care formulations and is lipophilic rather than water-soluble, and an anthocyanin-rich rind extract at 2–5% is supplied for natural colour. Calcium and potassium content is stated per lot so the mineral contribution can be carried correctly into the finished-product nutrition panel — a point that matters when the salt grade is dosed at a gram or more per serving. All grades are vegan and vegetarian, with no milk, egg, soy, fish, crustacean, gluten or nut inputs and no bovine or porcine material or processing aids. One distinction is worth stating plainly: kokum butter, the hard fat pressed from the seed and used in confectionery and cosmetics, is a completely different product with different specifications and a different tariff chapter, and should not be ordered against this record. Salt-form powders are hygroscopic and ship with desiccant in double-lined drums; caking on receipt is almost always a packaging-integrity issue rather than a specification failure. Every consignment carries a full certificate of analysis, botanical identity confirmation, heavy-metal, pesticide-residue and microbiological reports, an allergen and GMO statement and an MSDS. Organic (NPOP / NOP / EU), Kosher and Halal certified lots are available to order.