Vegan Vitamin D3 (Lichen-Derived Cholecalciferol)

Vegan vitamin D3 is cholecalciferol, CAS 67-97-0, molecular formula C27H44O and molecular weight 384.6, obtained from the thallus of reindeer lichen, Cladonia rangiferina (L.) Weber ex F.H. Wigg. (synonym Cladina rangiferina). The commercial point of this grade is its origin rather than its chemistry. Ordinary vitamin D3 is made from lanolin, the wool grease of sheep, which rules it out of a vegan claim and troubles some vegetarian and religious specifications; lichen is the established non-animal source of cholecalciferol, and the molecule it yields is the same D3 the body makes in skin. Vitamin D contributes to the normal absorption and utilisation of calcium and phosphorus and to the maintenance of normal bones — the record describes composition and that established nutrient function only. Production follows the same photochemistry as human skin. Provitamin D, 7-dehydrocholesterol, present in the lichen thallus is converted to cholecalciferol by controlled ultraviolet exposure; the D3 is then extracted from the biomass and concentrated. Standard trade strengths are a 100,000 IU/g powder on an approved carrier, oil concentrates at 400,000 IU/g and 1,000,000 IU/g, and purified crystalline vegan D3 at 40,000,000 IU/g. That last figure is the anchor for every dilution: 1 IU equals 0.025 micrograms of cholecalciferol, so pure D3 is by definition 40 million IU per gram. One technical caution deserves emphasis at enquiry stage — lichen naturally carries ergocalciferol (D2) alongside cholecalciferol, so the certificate of analysis must report D3 specifically by HPLC rather than a combined total vitamin D figure. Any lot Thovek ships is documented on that basis. For a buyer building a vegan label, the carrier matters as much as the active. Standard D3 beadlets on the market are gelatin-coated, which quietly destroys the claim the brand is paying for, so the vegan format is built on modified starch, acacia and sunflower oil and the format must be nominated explicitly on the order. The material is vegan and vegetarian suitable, and is neither bovine, porcine nor marine — fish-liver-oil D3 is a separate product with its own fish allergen declaration and should not be confused with this one. It carries no milk, egg, fish, crustacean, soy, peanut, tree nut or gluten declaration. Cholecalciferol is oxygen-, light- and heat-labile and isomerises to previtamin D3 when heated, so all grades ship antioxidant-protected and nitrogen-blanketed, with cold-chain handling for the high-potency crystalline and oil concentrates.