Terminalia chebula extract (Haritaki)

Haritaki is the fruit of Terminalia chebula Retz. (family Combretaceae; synonym Myrobalanus chebula (Retz.) Gaertn.), known in English as chebulic or black myrobalan and in Hindi as harad. Thovek extracts the destoned dried fruit - the stone is removed before milling, since it carries different chemistry, dilutes the tannin assay and inflates yield figures that look attractive on paper. Extraction is hydroalcoholic or aqueous, followed by concentration and spray drying. The chemistry is dominated by hydrolysable tannins: chebulinic acid (CAS 18942-26-2, C41H32O27, MW 956.68) and chebulagic acid (CAS 23094-71-5, C41H30O27, MW 954.66), with chebulic acid, corilagin, gallic acid and ellagic acid alongside, plus the triterpene arjungenin - the same aglycone family that turns up in Terminalia arjuna bark, which is worth knowing if you run both through one HPLC method. There is a public reference standard for this material and buyers should use it. The USP Herbal Medicines Compendium monograph for Terminalia chebula Fruit Dry Extract defines the article as prepared from the dried fruit by extraction with hydroalcoholic mixtures, and requires not less than 90% and not more than 110% of the labelled amount of hydrolysable tannins calculated as the sum of chebulagic acid and chebulinic acid on the dried basis. It also names Terminalia citrina as the confounding material to test against, which is the single most useful line in the monograph for anyone buying from an open market. A titrimetric "tannins 40%" number and an HPLC chebulagic-plus-chebulinic number are not the same measurement and will not agree; decide which basis your specification runs on before you compare quotes. One further regulatory point for EU buyers: anthraquinone and sennoside-type constituents have been reported in the fruit and pericarp, and Regulation (EU) 2021/468 added aloe-emodin, emodin and danthron - and extracts in which they are present - to Annex III Part A of Regulation 1925/2006, though the EU General Court annulled much of that in November 2024 (Case T-189/21). The position has moved and may move again, so confirm the current text for your intended use and, if it matters to your dossier, specify a lot-level emodin and aloe-emodin screen rather than assuming either way. Haritaki is one of the three fruits of Triphala, with bibhitaki (Terminalia bellirica) and amla (Phyllanthus emblica), and most volume moves either into Triphala blending or as a standalone standardised extract; the two are different purchases, since blending grades are usually specified on tannins while standalone extracts increasingly run on the HPLC marker basis. In formulation the tannin load is the thing to design around: it is sharply astringent, binds protein, and complexes iron and other metal ions, so it can haze a ready-to-drink base and can interact with mineral premixes and with metal-ion-sensitive actives. All grades are vegan and vegetarian, non-GMO, and free from milk, egg, fish, crustacean, soy, peanut, tree nut, sesame, celery and mustard; maltodextrin carriers where used are maize-derived and gluten-free. Batch documentation covers assay, loss on drying, ash, heavy metals, residual solvents, pesticide residues and microbiology, with allergen, GMO, irradiation and country-of-origin statements.