Glossary · 24 terms
The words that decide what you receive.
Botanical sourcing has its own vocabulary, and many disputes start with two people using the same word differently. These definitions are written for buyers: what the term means, why it matters, and what to ask a supplier.
Direct answer
A botanical extract specification is only meaningful when the marker, analytical method, plant part, carrier, and calculation basis are defined. This glossary explains those terms and the documents — COA, TDS, and SDS — that accompany a lot.
Documents
The paperwork
Certificate of analysis
COA
A batch-specific document that reports the test results for one manufacturing lot against an agreed specification, including the analytical methods and acceptance criteria.
Technical data sheet
TDS
A product-level summary of a grade's botanical source, specification, physical properties, solubility, storage, and packaging. It is not batch-specific.
Safety data sheet
SDS
A 16-section document covering hazards, handling, storage, transport, and emergency response for a specific product. It is a safety document, not a quality or potency document.
Specification
A written set of acceptance criteria — identity, marker range, method, physical parameters, contaminants, carrier, and packaging — against which each lot is tested and released.
Analysis
How it is measured
Marker compound
A measurable constituent used to characterize or standardize an extract. It may or may not be the compound responsible for the botanical's traditional use.
High-performance liquid chromatography
HPLC
An analytical technique that separates individual compounds before detection, allowing a specific marker or marker family to be quantified against a reference standard.
Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy
UV-VIS
A spectrophotometric method that measures absorbance at a chosen wavelength to estimate a family total, usually against a single reference standard.
Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
ICP-MS
A trace-element technique that measures individual metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury at very low concentrations.
Maximum residue limit
MRL
A regulatory limit for a pesticide residue in a defined food commodity. It is set by the destination market, not chosen by the supplier.
Limit of quantification
LOQ
The lowest concentration of an analyte that a method can reliably quantify. A result below the LOQ is not the same as zero.
Residual solvents
Volatile solvents remaining after extraction, purification, or carrier preparation. They are controlled by solvent class and limit, not by a single generic test.
Heavy metals
Trace elements such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury that can be taken up by plants and concentrated during extraction.
Pesticide residues
Residues of agricultural pesticides that may remain in the herb and concentrate in the extract. Multi-residue panels are matched to the herb and destination market.
Chemistry
How the material is built
Standardized extract
An extract adjusted to a defined marker range so each lot can be tested against a stated content, rather than only an herb-to-extract ratio.
Extract ratio
The mass of raw herb used to produce one mass of extract, written as a ratio such as 10:1. It describes the process, not the marker content or potency.
Carrier
A food-grade material such as maltodextrin or gum arabic used to dilute, standardize, or spray-dry an extract. The carrier is part of the ingredient and must be declared.
Mesh size
A particle-size designation based on the number of openings per linear inch of screen. Higher mesh means a finer powder; 80 mesh is roughly 180 micrometres.
Water-soluble vs water-dispersible
Soluble means the extract forms a true solution; dispersible means it suspends as fine particles and may settle. The difference decides whether a clear drink is possible.
Markers
The marker families
Withanolides
The steroidal lactone family used to standardize ashwagandha, usually measured by HPLC and commonly specified at 2.5% or 5%.
Curcuminoids
The yellow pigment family in turmeric — curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin — commonly standardized as a 95% total by HPLC.
Silymarin
A flavonolignan family from milk thistle, commonly standardized to 80% by UV. Silybin is a single compound within the family, usually measured by HPLC.
EGCG
Epigallocatechin gallate
The main catechin used to standardize green tea extract, commonly specified at 50% by HPLC, with caffeine content reported separately.
Trans-resveratrol
The biologically studied isomer of resveratrol. A 98% specification should state trans-resveratrol, not only total resveratrol, because cis-isomer content changes the material.
Oligomeric proanthocyanidins
OPC
The polyphenol family used to standardize grape seed and pine bark extracts, often measured by UV against a reference standard.
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A term your supplier uses differently?
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