Piceatannol
Piceatannol is 3,3',4,5'-tetrahydroxystilbene, a hydroxylated analogue of resveratrol carrying one additional hydroxyl group on the B ring, which converts that ring into a catechol. It occurs in passion fruit seed, which is the main commercial source, and in smaller amounts in grape, sugar cane and the bark of Picea spruce species, from which it takes its name.
The extra hydroxyl group changes the molecule in two ways that matter commercially. It makes piceatannol a stronger hydrogen-donating antioxidant than resveratrol, and it makes it considerably less stable, since catechols oxidise readily in neutral and alkaline aqueous solution and in the presence of iron and copper. Piceatannol is in fact a mammalian metabolite of resveratrol, formed by hydroxylation in the liver.
The purified material is an off-white to pale yellow crystalline powder, poorly soluble in water and soluble in ethanol, acetone and dimethyl sulphoxide. Like other stilbenes it exists as trans and cis isomers, and the trans form, which is the active and the one assayed, isomerises under ultraviolet light, so the powder and its solutions are handled and stored away from light. Supplement formats keep it dry or use cyclodextrin and phospholipid complexes to raise solubility.
We source bulk Piceatannol from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturers are in Zhejiang and Shaanxi. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
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- Function
- Plant extract
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Off-white to pale yellow crystalline powder |
| Assay (HPLC, dry basis) | 98.0 percent minimum as trans-piceatannol |
| Identification | HPLC retention and UV maximum near 324 nm conform to reference standard |
| cis Isomer | 1.0 percent maximum |
| Resveratrol | 0.5 percent maximum |
| Melting point | 222 to 228 degrees C |
| Loss on drying | 2.0 percent maximum |
| Residue on ignition | 1.0 percent maximum |
| Residual solvents (ethanol) | 5000 mg/kg maximum |
| Lead | 1.0 mg/kg maximum |
| Arsenic | 1.0 mg/kg maximum |
| Total plate count | 1000 cfu/g maximum |
| Yeast and mould | 100 cfu/g maximum |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
The trade covers passion fruit seed extract standardised on piceatannol, commonly at 5, 10 or 20 percent, and purified piceatannol at 98 percent and above. Extract grades carry accompanying stilbenes including scirpusin B, a piceatannol dimer characteristic of passion fruit seed, and buyers should note whether the assay is for piceatannol alone or for total stilbenes. Synthetic piceatannol is also produced and should be distinguished from plant-derived material where a natural declaration is needed.
Delivery grades sit alongside. Micronised powder with a stated particle size, gamma-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes and phospholipid dispersions are traded to address the poor aqueous solubility, each sold on the piceatannol payload rather than on the purity of the underlying compound. Trans isomer content is specified separately from total assay for high-grade material, and packaging is normally amber glass or foil laminate under nitrogen.
Applications
- Nutricosmetic supplements positioned on skin condition and antioxidant claims
- Longevity and cellular health blends alongside resveratrol, pterostilbene and fisetin
- Metabolic and vascular support formulas
- Softgels using an oil or phospholipid dispersion to improve absorption
- Functional beverages using a cyclodextrin-complexed grade to keep the stilbene in solution
- Beauty-from-within drinks and jellies in East Asian markets, a well-established format for this ingredient
- Skin care serums and creams formulated at acidic pH with a chelating agent
- Gummies and chewables at low dose using a micronised or complexed grade
- Analytical reference standards for stilbene quantification
China Manufacturers of Piceatannol
Top Piceatannol manufacturers in China.
Great Forest13 ingredients in the directory
Sanyuanlihua Bio-tech Co., Ltd.13 ingredients in the directory
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
Piceatannol has no food additive approval in the United States and no general GRAS listing. It reaches the market as a dietary ingredient in supplements, most often in the form of passion fruit seed extract, and suppliers of the purified compound should be able to document the basis on which it qualifies as a dietary ingredient. Claims are structure and function claims subject to the usual substantiation and disclaimer requirements, and cosmetic use falls under the general safety and labelling provisions rather than any pre-market approval.
In the European Union isolated piceatannol and concentrated passion fruit seed extracts do not have an established history of consumption in that form and would be expected to require assessment under the novel food framework before being placed on the market as food or food supplement ingredients, in the way that trans-resveratrol from a synthetic source required authorisation. There is no E number, and no authorised health claim. Codex and JECFA have not adopted specifications for piceatannol, so the general Codex provisions on contaminants and hygiene for plant material apply to the raw material stream.
Manufacturing Process
The commercial route starts from passion fruit seed, a by-product of juice processing. Wet seed is separated from the pomace, washed free of pulp and dried promptly in warm air, since damp oily seed deteriorates quickly. Dried seed is milled and normally defatted by pressing or with a light hydrocarbon solvent, because the seed carries a substantial fixed oil fraction that would otherwise interfere with the polyphenol extraction and foul the resin downstream. The defatted meal is the actual extraction feedstock.
Extraction uses aqueous ethanol at moderate temperature, kept away from alkaline conditions and from prolonged heat because the catechol oxidises. The extract is filtered, the alcohol recovered under vacuum, and the concentrate loaded onto macroporous adsorption resin that binds the stilbenes while sugars and salts pass through, with graded alcohol elution recovering a stilbene-rich fraction. Purified grades go on to preparative or simulated moving bed chromatography, which resolves piceatannol from scirpusin B and from resveratrol, followed by crystallisation from aqueous alcohol. Crystals are washed, dried under vacuum at moderate temperature, milled and packed under nitrogen in light-excluding containers.
