Botanical Extract Knowledge Base

Curcumin in the EU: Why Food Colour E 100 and Supplement Ingredient Are Two Different Regulatory Paths

Curcumin's novel food status in the EU is the single most common compliance question supplement buyers ask us. "It is the intended use of the product that defines whether curcuminoids are a food additive or a novel food." That sentence, from the UK Committee on Toxicity's 2024 statement on curcumin supplements, captures the regulatory split that catches more EU-bound curcumin buyers than any other.[1] Same molecule.

Flora PhytoVale

Oct 4, 2026

Bulk Lion’s Mane Extract Powder: How to Match the Right Grade to Your Product

A formulator sits down to spec a mushroom coffee sachet. The supplier's catalogue lists five grades of bulk lion's mane extract powder: polysaccharides 10 %, 30 %, 50 %, β-glucan 10 %, β-glucan 30 %.

Flora PhytoVale

Oct 3, 2026

Curcumin Bioavailability: Piperine, Phytosome and Micellar — What the Head-to-Head Data Actually Show

Every curcumin supplier website has a bioavailability number: 20×, 29× and 185×. These figures come from different studies, run at different doses, measuring different things — free curcumin or conjugated metabolites — and nearly all were funded by the company that developed the formulation being tested.

Flora PhytoVale

Oct 3, 2026

How Curcumin Degrades — and How to Keep It Intact in Your Formulation

Written by Flora · Reviewed by Prof. Bingji Ma · Updated October 2026

Flora PhytoVale

Oct 3, 2026

The 8 Most Common Zero-Calorie Sweeteners: How They’re Made, How They Taste, and What the Label Doesn’t Tell You

Pick up a bag of monk fruit sweetener at the grocery store. Turn it around.

Xinjuan Xu PhytoVale

Oct 2, 2026

Natural Sweetener Blends for Sugar Reduction: Ratios, Synergies and What the Research Actually Shows

Your reduced-sugar beverage has stevia, erythritol and monk fruit in it. You followed the supplier's suggested ratios.

Xinjuan Xu PhytoVale

Oct 2, 2026

Lion’s Mane Fruiting Body vs Mycelium: Three Product Tiers Every Buyer Should Verify

Three lion's mane quotations land on a procurement desk the same week. One offers a fruiting-body extract at β-glucan ≥ 30 %.

Flora PhytoVale

Oct 1, 2026

What Is Lion’s Mane Extract? Bioactive Compounds, Benefits & Quality Guide

Two lion's mane extracts sit on a buyer's desk. One reads polysaccharides ≥ 50 %; the other, β-glucan ≥ 30 %.

Flora PhytoVale

Oct 1, 2026

Nettle Leaf Extract for Hair Care: A Formulator’s Sourcing Guide

A brief lands from a brand client: "We're developing an anti-hair-loss shampoo with nettle leaf extract. Please quote." Before you send a price, there are five questions the brief does not answer — and each one changes what you should supply.

Flora PhytoVale

Sep 30, 2026

Nettle Leaf Extract Ratio Grades: What 10:1, 30:1 and 50:1 Actually Mean

Three quotations for nettle leaf extract land on a buyer's desk. Supplier A: 10:1, $28/kg.

Flora PhytoVale

Sep 30, 2026