Epimedium Polysaccharide Powder

Aerial parts of Epimedium brevicornu Maxim., a woodland herb known as barrenwort, are extracted in hot water, and the ethanol-precipitated carbohydrate fraction is dried and milled into this Epimedium polysaccharide powder. The light yellow powder dissolves in water and carries none of the flavonoid fraction that defines the herb.

Polysaccharide content is ≥30% by UV-Vis (phenol–sulfuric, as glucose), moisture and total ash are each ≤5.0%, and particle size is 80 mesh. The percentage is always read together with its method.

SKU: BOT-BPS-0019 Category: Botanical Polysaccharides Tags: Leaf & Herb, Polysaccharides, Sports Nutrition, Water Extracted, Water Soluble, Water-Extracted Fractions

Epimedium Polysaccharide Identity

The source is the aerial part of Epimedium brevicornu Maxim., a perennial of the family Berberidaceae, which in the herb trade means mainly the leaves with some stem. Roots and rhizomes are not part of the material. Several other Epimedium species are traded under the same herb name, including Epimedium sagittatum, Epimedium pubescens and Epimedium koreanum, and each has its own flavonoid profile.

The herb is best known for prenylated flavonol glycosides, such as icariin, which are the usual analytical markers of Epimedium extracts. Those flavonoids dissolve in ethanol, so they remain in the supernatant when a water extract is precipitated with ethanol. Epimedium polysaccharide is therefore a fraction chosen precisely because it excludes the marker compounds, and it should not be sold or read as a flavonoid ingredient.

The polysaccharide of the leaf is described as a heteropolysaccharide of mixed neutral sugars and uronic acids, with arabinose, galactose and glucose among the main residues. Some pectic material and a little protein co-precipitate with it, and the exact composition depends on the extraction conditions and on the leaf harvested.

Leaves are harvested in summer, dried and cut before extraction. Species, harvest time and drying affect the extract, and none is specified for this product beyond the botanical name above.

Polysaccharide Content & Test Method

The content statement, polysaccharides ≥30% by UV-Vis, rests on a colorimetric reaction. Hot sulfuric acid converts the sugars freed from the polymer into furfural derivatives, phenol turns these into a colored product, and the absorbance is compared with a glucose curve. Epimedium polysaccharide is a total-carbohydrate reading expressed in glucose units.

Leaf materials add a particular source of error. Phenolic compounds and flavonoid residues can absorb light in the same region as the colored product, and chlorophyll breakdown products from leaf tissue may leave a faint tint. Careful blanking removes most of this, and the ethanol precipitation step removes the bulk of the small phenolics before drying, but a leaf fraction is never as clean to read as a fruit or root fraction.

Uronic acids, common in leaf pectins, give a weaker color than neutral sugars. A pectin-rich fraction can therefore read lower than its true carbohydrate mass, while free sugars from the leaf read in full. The figure applies to the finished powder and not to the crude extract.

Compare the value only with other UV-Vis results that use glucose as the reference. It cannot be set against an icariin percentage by HPLC, since the two figures describe different fractions of the same herb.

Typical Specifications

Specification Item	Product Information
Latin Name	Epimedium brevicornu
Plant Part	Leaf & Herb
Processing	Water Extraction & Purification
Common Name	Epimedium (barrenwort)
Ingredient Type	Polysaccharide Extract
Polysaccharide Type	Heteropolysaccharides
Content	Polysaccharides ≥30% (UV-Vis, as glucose)
Appearance	Light Yellow powder
Solubility / Dispersibility	Water Soluble
Quality Parameters
Moisture	≤5.0% (LOD)
Total Ash	≤5.0%
Particle Size	80 mesh
Heavy Metals	Lead ≤2 ppm · Arsenic ≤1 ppm · Cadmium ≤1 ppm · Mercury ≤0.1 ppm
Microbiology	TPC ≤1,000 cfu/g · Yeast & Mold ≤100 cfu/g · E. coli Negative · Salmonella Negative/25 g
Shelf Life	24 months in unopened original packaging, cool and dry storage

Epimedium Polysaccharide Solution Behavior

The powder dissolves in water into a pale yellow, clear to slightly hazy solution. Epimedium polysaccharide is a branched heteropolysaccharide and not a gelling gum, so viscosity stays low to moderate at normal use levels and rises gradually with concentration. Warm water shortens dissolution, and sifting the powder into a stirred vortex prevents the lumps that form when it is poured in.

The solution is stable through ordinary pasteurization and across the mildly acidic to neutral pH range of beverages. Prolonged boiling at low pH can cleave glycosidic bonds and thin the liquid, and heating with amino compounds drives Maillard browning, deepening the yellow toward amber. Divalent ions such as calcium can bridge the uronic acid groups and cloud the solution at higher levels.

A leaf-derived fraction can carry a faint green-herbal note and a slight astringency from residual phenolics. Demineralized water gives the cleanest drink, and a short filtration through a fine screen removes undissolved flecks. Protein carried through the precipitation can interact with tea or fruit polyphenols and cloud the liquid, so a trial in the final matrix precedes scale-up.

As Epimedium is processed, the dry powder is hygroscopic and cakes in open air. No viscosity value is published here.

Residual leaf chlorophyll and phenolics can leave a faint green or tan cast in concentrated Epimedium polysaccharide solutions, and this is a property of the leaf matrix and not a defect. A fine filtration removes undissolved flecks, and the color of each Epimedium polysaccharide lot is compared with an approved reference solution at the same concentration.

Application Areas

Herbal Drink Powders and Stick Packs

Epimedium polysaccharide dissolves into a pale solution and suits herbal drink powders and stick packs. Its faint herbal note blends with ginger, jujube and tea flavors, and hot holding is kept short to limit browning. Epimedium is added at the stage that best protects its color and taste.

Capsule and Tablet Formats

The purified powder fills capsules cleanly and is much less sticky than milled leaf. Tablets need dry granulation or a controlled drying endpoint because the polysaccharide surface turns tacky when wetted, and fill weight is checked at both ends of the run.

Liquid Concentrates and Shots

In small-volume liquids, the polysaccharide adds soluble solids with gentle viscosity. Calcium-rich bases may cloud, so mineral content is checked in the trial batch, and clarity is compared with a control after a week of cold storage.

Herbal Formula Powder Blends

Herbal blends combine the polysaccharide with other water-soluble fractions in sachets. The powder mixes evenly with dry ingredients, a moisture-barrier laminate prevents caking, and dose weight is verified on samples from throughout the run. Retained samples of each Epimedium batch are kept for comparison.

Soft Candy and Jelly Bases

Soft candies and jellies tolerate the fraction at moderate inclusion because it dissolves into the cooking syrup. Acid is added late to protect color, and batch pH is recorded since pectin and gelatin sets respond to it.

Packaging & Commercial Supply

Essencefield supports product evaluation, formulation trials, commercial orders, and ongoing ingredient supply. Packaging, storage, and shipping arrangements are determined by product characteristics, order quantity, stability requirements, and destination-market needs.

Supply Item	General Information
Sample	Available upon request for formulation, testing, and supplier evaluation
Order Quantities	100 g · 1 kg · 5 kg · 25 kg · 100 kg · 500 kg · Bulk
Sample Lead Time	Typically 5–7 days after sample confirmation
Production Lead Time	Typically 15–30 days after order and specification confirmation
Packaging	Suitable protective inner packaging with bags, cartons, drums, or other appropriate outer packaging
Storage	Store in tightly sealed, suitable protective packaging in a cool, dry environment. Protect from moisture, heat, and direct sunlight. Specific storage conditions follow the approved product specification.
Documentation	COA · Product Specification · TDS · SDS · Applicable declarations (as applicable)

Final order quantities, lead times, packaging, documentation, and shipping arrangements are confirmed according to the selected product and commercial requirements.