Pomegranate Extract (Ellagic Acid)

Pomegranate extract is made from the rind, or pericarp, of Punica granatum L. (family Lythraceae, formerly Punicaceae) — the tough outer husk that is left behind when the fruit is pressed for juice or shelled for arils. The rind, not the aril, is where the ellagitannins sit, which is why the by-product stream of the juice industry is the economic raw material and why India is a natural place to make this ingredient: Maharashtra is the country's largest pomegranate-growing state and the Bhagwa cultivar dominates the commercial crop. Two other pomegranate ingredients are frequently confused with this one and are not supplied under this listing. Pomegranate seed oil is a fixed oil carrying punicic acid, a Chapter 15 good with its own specification. Pomegranate juice powder is a Chapter 20 juice preparation carrying fruit sugars and anthocyanins, with very little ellagitannin. A buyer switching between the three should re-qualify from scratch. The marker set is the ellagitannin family. Ellagic acid (CAS 476-66-4, C14H6O8, MW 302.19) is the assay marker and is offered at 20%, 30% and 40% by HPLC. Punicalagin (CAS 65995-63-3, C48H28O30, MW 1084.72), which exists as interconverting alpha and beta anomers and is structurally gallagic acid and ellagic acid bridged by a glucose, is the dominant native ellagitannin in the rind and is offered as a separate standardisation at 20%, 30% and 40%; punicalin and granatin B are the other significant members. A total-polyphenol grade at 40% as gallic acid by Folin is available where a formulator wants breadth rather than a single marker. One commercial caution belongs on every enquiry: titrimetric and UV assays read materially higher than HPLC on the same lot, so the assay method must be written on the purchase order rather than assumed. A second caution concerns provenance — ellagic acid is not unique to pomegranate and is obtained from other ellagitannin-rich botanicals, so high-assay 90%-plus material offered in the market is often not of pomegranate origin. We name the botanical source on every certificate of analysis and will support it with HPLC fingerprint data. Material is extracted and dried at FSSAI-registered sites using water or aqueous ethanol, with the solvent stated per grade and residual solvents tested to ICH Q3C. Where a water-dispersible grade is supplied the carrier is named and its botanical origin declared — maize-derived maltodextrin or gum acacia — and a carrier-free grade is available for tablet and capsule work. The product is vegan and vegetarian, with no bovine, porcine, marine or insect material at any stage, and is free of all FDA 9 and EU 14 allergens including peanut and sesame; it is non-GMO and non-irradiated, with steam sterilisation used where microbial reduction is needed. Heavy metals, pesticide residues and aflatoxins are tested lot-wise, with USP <232>/<233> elemental impurities available for pharma buyers. Every consignment ships with COA, specification sheet, MSDS, allergen and GMO statements, certificate of origin and organic transaction certificates where applicable. This record describes composition and function only; no therapeutic or disease claim is made or supported.