Lodhra Extract (Symplocos racemosa Bark Extract)

Lodhra extract is prepared from the dried stem bark of Symplocos racemosa Roxb., the sole traded species of the unigeneric family Symplocaceae, distributed across north and eastern India south into peninsular India and up to about 1,400 m in the Himalaya. The bark is chemically distinct from the other astringent Ayurvedic barks: alongside a gallotannin and ellagic-acid fraction it carries a small, characteristic alkaloid complement — published phytochemical work on the bark reports loturine at around 0.24%, loturidine at 0.06% and colloturine at 0.02% — plus the phenolic glycosides salireposide and benzoylsalireposide, the flavanol glucosides symplocoside and symposide, the C-glycoside symcososide, locoracemosides A–C, and the triterpenes betulinic, oleanolic and acetyl-oleanolic acid with β-sitosterol. Thovek supplies water and hydro-alcoholic extracts standardised to 5.0% or 10.0% w/w total tannins by titration, matching the 10%-tannin benchmark used by branded Symplocos ingredients in the market, plus 5:1 and 10:1 native ratio grades for formulators working to drug equivalence. Lodhra is a substitution-heavy raw material and this is the specification point that matters most to a buyer. Market surveys repeatedly find Symplocos cochinchinensis, S. laurina (S. crataegoides), S. paniculata, S. sumuntia and S. spicata bark sold under the name Lodhra; some Ayurvedic sources treat several of these as accepted regional types, but they are not the same botanical and will not match a specification written to S. racemosa. We authenticate incoming bark against a botanical reference, release each lot on an HPTLC fingerprint, and can run DNA-based species confirmation where a buyer's own QA or a downstream regulator requires an unambiguous species call. Because the substitutes are legitimate commerce in India rather than deliberate fraud, an extract bought on price alone will very often not be Symplocos racemosa — the sourcing controls, not the assay, are what make the difference. Symplocos racemosa is not listed in the CITES appendices and we are not aware of a current global IUCN Red List assessment for the species; conservation literature on the genus does flag restricted wild distribution, so we document cultivated and managed-collection origin and supply the sourcing dossier on request. The extract is vegan and vegetarian, contains no milk, egg, soy, fish, crustacean, peanut, tree nut, sesame or gluten-source ingredient, and is non-GMO with halal and kosher certification available. Any optional flow carrier is maize-derived maltodextrin, which preserves the gluten-free declaration. Thovek states composition and specification only; claim substantiation on the finished product rests with the brand owner.