Salacia reticulata Identity & Plant Part
The botanical entity is Salacia reticulata Wight, a woody climbing shrub of the Celastraceae native to Sri Lanka and southern India. The part used is the root. Leaves and stem wood are not part of this ingredient, although trade lists often combine root and stem under the name Salacia.
Several Salacia species circulate commercially, among them S. oblonga and S. chinensis, so the species name matters in a purchase specification. Salacia root carries sulfur-containing sugar derivatives, a xanthone glycoside, triterpenes and tannins, named here as constituent families only. Salacia extract keeps the water-soluble share of these families.












