If you buy haritaki, sooner or later someone will show you a lab number and tell you it proves their product is superior. Here is how to actually read a haritaki certificate of analysis (COA) so you can judge for yourself.
What's on a COA
A typical supplement COA covers four areas:
- Identity β confirmation that the material is Terminalia chebula and not a substitute species. This is the most important line on the sheet and the one least often advertised.
- Safety β heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury), microbial counts, and often pesticide screening.
- Marker compounds β a measurement of one or more characteristic constituents, such as total tannins, chebulagic acid, chebulinic acid, or chebulic acid.
- Physical β moisture, ash, particle size.
A marketing claim built on one line from the third category, with nothing said about the first two, tells you where the seller wants your attention β and where they don't.
The tannin family in haritaki
Haritaki is one of the richest botanical sources of hydrolysable tannins. The fruit contains chebulagic acid, chebulinic acid, chebulic acid, corilagin, punicalagin, gallic acid, ellagic acid, and related compounds. Chebulagic and chebulinic acids are typically present in larger amounts than free chebulic acid; chebulic acid is also a breakdown product of the larger tannins.
That last point matters. Because chebulic acid can be released when larger tannins hydrolyse, a very high free chebulic acid reading is not automatically a sign of a superior fruit. It can equally indicate that the larger, more complex tannins have been broken apart during processing. A single number without context cannot distinguish the two.
Why whole-fruit numbers vary
Published analyses of Terminalia chebula fruit show wide natural ranges for individual tannins, driven by:
- Ripeness at harvest (immature and mature fruit differ substantially)
- Growing region and altitude
- Season and rainfall in the harvest year
- Drying method and storage time
Whole-fruit haritaki that reports the same marker percentage batch after batch would be surprising. A standardized extract, by design, does not vary β the manufacturer adjusts it. Neither is inherently wrong, but they are different products, and a lab number should be read with that in mind.
Questions worth asking any haritaki seller
- Is this whole fruit, or an extract? If an extract, what solvent and what ratio?
- What temperature does the material reach during processing?
- Do you test identity and heavy metals on every batch? Can I see the COA?
- If you quote a marker percentage, is it from a representative batch or guaranteed for every batch β and if guaranteed, how is that achieved?
- Where is the fruit grown, and do you source it directly?
How Kailash Herbals approaches testing
Every batch of our haritaki is tested for identity, heavy metals, and microbial safety in a GMP-certified facility. Marker compounds are tested on representative batches, and our chebulic acid results fall within the normal published range for whole dried fruit. We publish typical values, not guaranteed values, because our product is a whole fruit ground at low temperature and we would rather tell you the truth about natural variation than adjust the product to hit a number.
Our fruit is sourced directly from the Himalayan regions where it has been harvested for centuries β the part of the story no lab report can measure, and the part we're proudest of.
Martyn Williams is the founder of Kailash Herbals. Copies of current certificates of analysis are available on request.