FAQ – Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between extract powder and normal powder?
Many products can be found in two different forms: as a „normal“ powder and as an extract powder. Normal Powder is obtained by gently drying the plant material (eg the root or the leaves) and then finely grinding it. Normal powder contains all active ingredients of the dried plant , but is sometimes hard to digest depending on the product type, especially in roots.
Extract powder is extracted from the normal powder by hot water extraction in most cases. In this process, the focus is on the concentration of certain active ingredients and their easier usability.
Our extract powders are manufactured in pharmaceutical plants to pharmaceutical standards, provide highest possible purity and safety and are standardized to consistent quality . So contains eg. our Ashwaganda extract powder always exactly 5% withanolides, whereas the withanolide content of normal powder can naturally vary greatly.

In addition, the active ingredients in extract powder are more concentrated , whereupon the addition „10: 1“ refers to „20: 1“ and so on. This means that for example 10kg of normal powder will yield 1kg of the extract powder. Put simply, 10: 1 means that the extract powder contains 10x more active ingredients than the normal powder.

Another advantage of the extract powder is its easy usability . By extracting the active ingredients are processed so that they are ideally accessible to the body and digestible. So nothing is lost and the effect is faster and more intense.
Because of this you take less from the extract powder than from the normal powders – the exact dosage can be found in the product description. For many products, especially those classified as „adaptogens“, however, one can safely take more – for example. if you are in a very stressful phase and need more power. Adaptogens are difficult to overdose by themselves and there are no habituation effects or side effects.
In summary, it can be said that extract powders contain higher-dose active ingredients and thus have a stronger and more immediate effect.

Are extract powders from hot water extraction inferior because they were heated?
No – they are just different. It has to be kept in mind that herbs, especially roots, in most cases benefit from hot water extraction. Of course, in hot water extraction, some nutrients such as proteins and enzymes are lost. But that’s why they are not consumed in this case, but because of the specific effect of the respective active ingredients, which are often made accessible by the hot water extraction in the first place.

We differentiate very much between foods and herbs (superherbs). Ideally, foods should be consumed raw and untreated to maximize the nutrients they contain.
Dry herbs and roots are, except for a few exceptions (fresh wild herbs etc.) hot processed or consumed to draw maximum from the trapped in the plant micro-nutrients.
Ultimately, however, it is a very personal choice which product form you prefer. One might want to enjoy the whole plant in its raw, original form, or prefer the taste of ordinary powder. The other one may prefer to have a slightly stronger, more immediate effect and will therefore resort to the extract powder. For this reason we have in many cases both product forms on offer to allow a wider range of applications.

Is there also extract powder from cold water extraction?
Very rare indeed, but yes. Our premium Maca 6: 1 extract powder and our premium Camu Camu 30: 1 powder are obtained in this way. It is a patented cold water extraction process called cold water gelatinization. The fresh plant material is placed in cold water and placed in the sun for several days. This process breaks down the starch molecules in the material, making the actual active ingredients more accessible. Subsequently, the material is gently dried at raw food temperatures and finely ground. This is very important, especially with Camu Camu, because the contained vitamin C is very sensitive to heat and a hot water extraction is out of the question. Even with the normally very digestible maca root, all nutrients and active ingredients are preserved in this way with maximum digestibility.