How to read a dihydromyricetin specification, line by line
The two lines that decide a dihydromyricetin quotation. A DHM enquiry usually arrives with one number — 98% — and sometimes a source. The percentage is only meaningful once you know which plant it came from and which analytical method put it there. Get those two lines wrong and the comparison between two quotations is meaningless, because a 98% by HPLC from vine tea and a 98% by UV from hovenia fruit are two different materials at two different prices. This is how we read our own sheet before it becomes a quotation.
Dihydromyricetin is a flavonoid extracted from the vine and leaf of Ampelopsis grossedentata — vine tea, the plant behind commercial teng cha. The specification is a short document, and every line on it is doing work. Read them in the order below and the gap between two suppliers becomes obvious before you ask for a sample. The commercial side — grades, MOQ, sample policy and lead time — is covered in our dihydromyricetin sourcing guide.
The botanical source line: vine tea, not hovenia
The source line should read Ampelopsis grossedentata, part used vine and leaf. This matters because there is a second, cheaper material on the market: dihydromyricetin isolated from hovenia (Hovenia dulcis) fruit. Both are sold as DHM, both test positive for the molecule, but they are extracts of different plants with different co-extracted profiles, different tastes and different price structures. Buyers formulating a vine-tea-based beverage who receive hovenia-derived material discover it at the taste trial, not at goods-in. If your label or your marketing story says vine tea, put the botanical line in the purchase order, not just in the email thread.
The assay line: HPLC, not UV
Our grades are 20%, 30% and 98%, all stated by HPLC. The method line is the one buyers skip most often, and it is the one that decides whether the number is real. Ultraviolet methods read the whole flavonoid family at a similar wavelength and will report a dihydromyricetin figure that is several points higher than the HPLC value for the same powder. A supplier quoting 98% by UV may be shipping material that is 92–94% by HPLC. The fix is procedural, not technical: ask each supplier which method stands behind the number, and ask for the HPLC chromatogram of the actual lot — not a certificate for a generic sample. We attach the chromatogram to every lot COA precisely because the chromatogram is the part that cannot be edited.
The physical lines: colour, mesh and loss on drying
Appearance tracks purity. The 98% grade is a white to off-white fine powder; the 20% and 30% grades are progressively browner vine-tea extracts, because what is left besides the DHM is the rest of the vine. If a "98%" quotation describes a brown powder, the assay is wrong or the material is blended — either way you have your answer. Particle size is 80 mesh as standard, which suits capsule filling and beverage dispersion alike; finer cuts are available on request. Loss on drying is limited to 5.0% or less, and it is worth checking on the lot COA rather than the datasheet, because DHM is hygroscopic enough that a pallet stored badly in a humid summer will drift.
What the lot COA should carry
A batch certificate for DHM should show: the HPLC assay with the chromatogram, loss on drying, and the microbial panel — total plate count, and negative results for the usual pathogens. Our typical 98% lot reports 98.4% by HPLC, which is the honest way to state a grade: the specification says 98% or higher, and the COA shows where that particular lot actually landed. Ask for exactly this when you compare suppliers — the datasheet is a promise, the lot COA is the delivery of the promise, and the chromatogram is what makes it verifiable.
Frequently asked questions
What is dihydromyricetin standardised to?
The commercial grades are 20%, 30% and 98% or higher, all measured by HPLC, from the vine and leaf of Ampelopsis grossedentata. The 98% grade is the white to off-white fine powder used in capsules and tablets; the lower grades are browner vine-tea extracts typically used in beverage systems.
What should I check when comparing dihydromyricetin specifications?
Check the botanical source first — vine tea, not hovenia, unless you specifically want hovenia — then the assay and the method (HPLC, not UV), then the part used, the mesh and the loss-on-drying limit. Then ask for the lot COA with the HPLC chromatogram attached rather than a generic sample certificate.
What does a dihydromyricetin lot COA include?
The HPLC assay result with the chromatogram, loss on drying, and the microbial panel. Our typical 98% lot reports 98.4% by HPLC. The actual COA for your batch is issued with the shipment, so what you check against your incoming spec is the lot that is actually arriving.
Related reading
- How to source dihydromyricetin without guessing the grade
- Where dihydromyricetin fits: capsules, beverages and blends
Related: Dihydromyricetin — full specification, grades and documentation.
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