Erianin
Erianin is a naturally occurring bibenzyl, CAS 95041-90-0, with the molecular formula C18H22O5 and a molar mass of 318.37 g/mol. Chemically it is a dihydrostilbene, meaning two aromatic rings joined by an ethylene bridge, carrying three methoxy groups and a phenolic hydroxyl. It occurs in orchids of the genus Dendrobium, principally Dendrobium chrysotoxum, and is one of the compounds responsible for the interest in that genus beyond its polysaccharide content.
The isolated material is an off-white to pale yellow crystalline powder with no significant odour. It is practically insoluble in water and dissolves in dimethyl sulphoxide, ethanol, methanol and dichloromethane, which is why it is handled almost entirely as a solution or as a formulated dispersion rather than as a directly water-dosable ingredient. The stilbene backbone is sensitive to light and to oxidation, so the powder is stored cold, protected from light and normally under an inert atmosphere.
Erianin is present in the source plant at very low concentration, in the order of hundredths of a percent of dry stem, which is the practical constraint on the whole product. That scarcity, together with its poor aqueous solubility, keeps it in the specialty and research end of the trade rather than in bulk supplement manufacture, and most commercial material is sold in gram to kilogram quantities at high purity.
We source bulk Erianin from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Zhejiang. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
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- Function
- Plant extract
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Off-white to pale yellow crystalline powder |
| Odour | Odourless |
| Assay by HPLC | ≥ 98.0% |
| Identification | Conforms by NMR and mass spectrometry |
| Single Largest Impurity | ≤ 0.5% |
| Loss on Drying | ≤ 1.0% |
| Residue on Ignition | ≤ 0.5% |
| Residual Solvents | Complies with ICH Q3C limits |
| Heavy Metals (as Pb) | ≤ 10 mg/kg |
| Lead | ≤ 1.0 mg/kg |
| Arsenic | ≤ 1.0 mg/kg |
| Palladium Residue | ≤ 10 mg/kg for synthetic material |
| Packing and Storage | Amber glass under nitrogen, stored cold and protected from light |
Common Markets Grades
Erianin is traded essentially as one thing, the purified compound, differentiated only by assay and by the intended use. Research and reference grade comes in gram quantities at 98 or 99 percent minimum by HPLC, with a full analytical package including nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometric confirmation. Bulk grade at 95 to 98 percent is offered in larger quantities for formulation work and for further processing.
Below the isolated compound sit Dendrobium chrysotoxum extracts standardised on erianin content at fractions of a percent, which is how the molecule reaches most finished products, since the pure compound is too costly and too insoluble to dose directly. Solubilised presentations are also sold, including cyclodextrin complexes, liposomal dispersions and nanoemulsions, made to overcome the aqueous solubility problem. Synthetic material is chemically identical to plant-derived material and is distinguished on the certificate because origin affects labelling.
Applications
- Pharmacological and cell biology research, the dominant use, sold as a reference compound
- Analytical reference standard for quantifying erianin in Dendrobium raw material and extracts
- Marker compound for authenticating and grading Dendrobium chrysotoxum stem in the herbal trade
- Standardised Dendrobium extracts for supplements, where erianin is declared at trace level alongside polysaccharide
- Cosmetic serums and specialty skin preparations formulated at very low inclusion using a solubilised carrier
- Preclinical formulation development, including cyclodextrin and liposomal delivery systems
- Starting material for the synthesis of bibenzyl analogues in medicinal chemistry programmes
China Manufacturers of Erianin
Top Erianin manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
Erianin has no food or food additive status in any major market. It is not generally recognised as safe in the United States, has no food additive regulation and is not covered by a flavouring listing, and it is sold there as a research chemical rather than as a food ingredient. Any attempt to bring the isolated compound to market as a dietary ingredient under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act would require new dietary ingredient notification supported by safety data, and material offered for research use is normally labelled as not for human consumption.
In the European Union the compound has no history of consumption as a food before May 1997 and would fall squarely within the scope of the novel food Regulation, requiring authorisation before it could be sold as a food or food supplement ingredient. It carries no E number and appears on no authorised flavouring list. Neither JECFA nor Codex has evaluated the substance or published a specification, and no pharmacopoeial monograph exists, so trade relies entirely on supplier certificates of analysis and the accompanying spectroscopic data.
Manufacturing Process
Two routes reach the market. The extraction route starts from dried Dendrobium chrysotoxum stem, which is milled and extracted exhaustively with ethanol or methanol. The crude extract is concentrated under vacuum, suspended in water and partitioned successively against petroleum ether and ethyl acetate, with erianin carrying into the ethyl acetate fraction. That fraction is taken through silica gel column chromatography, then through Sephadex or reversed phase chromatography, and finally recrystallised. Yields are very low because the compound is present at trace level in the plant, so the extraction route serves mainly reference and analytical demand.
The synthetic route is what supports any larger quantity. It builds the bibenzyl skeleton by coupling a substituted benzaldehyde with a substituted benzyl phosphonate or phosphonium salt in a Wittig or Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction to give the stilbene, then hydrogenates the double bond over a palladium on carbon catalyst to the dihydrostilbene. Selective demethylation of the protecting group releases the free phenol. The crude product is worked up by aqueous wash and solvent extraction, purified by column chromatography or by recrystallisation from an alcohol, then vacuum dried and packed under nitrogen away from light.
