How to read an epimedium extract specification, line by line

The epimedium specification is ten lines on our sheet, and each one answers a question a buyer will eventually ask at goods-in or at audit. Read them in the order below. The commercial terms — grades, MOQ, samples and lead time — sit in the sourcing guide.

The botanical line: species and part used

The source line reads Epimedium brevicornu Maxim., part used leaf. Epimedium is not one plant: the pharmacopoeias recognise several species, and they differ measurably in icariin content. A quotation that names only "epimedium extract" is asking you to accept whatever the supplier happened to process that month. The part-used line matters for the same reason — leaf is the standard raw material for icariin standardisation, and a specification silent on the part used is a specification you cannot audit against a future lot. Put both lines in the purchase order.

The process and assay lines

Process reads water or ethanol-water extraction. The ethanol-water route is the one behind the higher icariin grades, and it is worth knowing which route your material took because it shapes the co-extracted profile alongside the marker compound. The assay line — icariin 5%, 10%, 20% or 98% by HPLC — is the headline, and the discipline around it is simple: the same method must appear on the datasheet and on every lot COA, and the COA must show the actual result, not just the grade. Our typical 20% lot reports icariin 20.3% by HPLC. If a supplier's certificate only ever says "conforms", you have learned something important about their QC.

The physical lines: appearance, mesh, loss on drying

Appearance is brown-yellow fine powder at the extract grades, and — as with most flavonoid extracts — colour tracks purity down the ladder: the 98% material is markedly paler. Particle size is 80 mesh as standard, which suits capsule filling directly; finer cuts are produced on request. Loss on drying is limited to 5.0% or less, and the typical lot lands at 4.2%. The reason to check this line on the lot COA rather than the datasheet is practical: flavonoid extracts hold water, and a drum that sat through a humid summer in a bad warehouse will read differently in March than the datasheet promised in September.

What the lot COA should carry

A certificate for epimedium extract should show four things: the HPLC assay with the result for that specific lot, loss on drying, heavy metals — our typical lot reports lead below 1 ppm — and the microbial panel, with total plate count under 1,000 cfu/g and negative results for E. coli and Salmonella. That is the set a U.S. dietary-supplement incoming-QA file expects, and it is the set we issue with every shipment. When you compare suppliers, ask for a redacted sample of an actual lot COA before you compare prices — the certificate quality tells you more about the supplier than the quotation does.

Frequently asked questions

What is epimedium extract standardised to?
Icariin at 5%, 10%, 20% or 98% or higher, measured by HPLC, from the leaf of Epimedium brevicornu Maxim. extracted with water or ethanol-water. The typical 20% lot reports icariin 20.3%, loss on drying 4.2%, lead below 1 ppm and total plate count under 1,000 cfu/g.

What should I check when comparing epimedium extract specifications?
Check the botanical species and part used first — brevicornu leaf, not an unnamed "epimedium" — then the assay method (HPLC, stated identically on datasheet and COA), then the physicals: 80 mesh and loss on drying limited to 5.0%. Then ask for a redacted sample of an actual lot COA rather than a datasheet.

What packing and shelf life does epimedium extract come in?
Standard packing is a 25 kg fibre drum with a double polyethylene liner, with 1 kg and 5 kg foil bags for samples and pilot runs. Shelf life is 24 months in unopened original packing, stored cool and dry away from direct sunlight. MOQ is 1 kg.

Related reading

• How to source epimedium extract without overpaying for icariin
• Where epimedium extract fits: vitality, bone-health and sports formulas

Related: Epimedium Extract — full specification, grades and documentation.