Chasteberry (vitex)
Chasteberry is the dried fruit of Vitex agnus-castus, a shrub in the mint family (Lamiaceae) native to the Mediterranean and western Asia. Ripe berries are dried and sold whole or milled, or extracted with water-alcohol and dried. Extracts are commonly standardized to agnuside or casticin by HPLC, and branded extracts specify a drug-to-extract ratio as well.
Suppliers sell different products under the same name. Specify the one you need.
Whole dried fruit for tinctures and further processing.
Dried, milled fruit for capsules.
Hydroalcoholic extract with declared agnuside or casticin by HPLC.
Water-alcohol tincture of the fruit, sold by ratio.
Compare each result with your own specification when the lot arrives.
Keep berries and extract sealed in lined containers, cool, dry and dark. Extracts are hygroscopic and cake if left open. Suppliers set shelf life or retest dates and repeat the marker assay at retest.
Marker content varies with origin and ripeness, and other Vitex species can be substituted. Record supplier lot, species, origin and assay, and rotate first-expiry-first-out.
Facts from regulators and standards bodies, each linked to its source.
Health Canada's chaste tree natural health product monograph lists Vitex agnus-castus (chasteberry, vitex) with the dried fruit as the source part.
Source: webprod.hc-sc.gc.ca (opens in a new tab)This is general information, not regulatory advice. Status differs by country and by how the ingredient is used, so check the rules for your product and market.
Manufacturers and distributors whose own websites say they sell it.
Manufacturer · Changsha, China
Hunan Nutramax is a plant extract producer in Changsha, China, best known for monk fruit (luo han guo), stevia and sweet tea extracts, that also offers a range of herbal extracts.
Suppliers are in alphabetical order and none pays to appear. Each claim is checked against the supplier’s own website on the date shown. Ask for the specification sheet and a recent COA before you order, and confirm details with the supplier.
Common forms include dried berries, berry powder, standardized extract and liquid extract. Ask each supplier for the specification sheet of the exact grade they quote.
Expect identity (HPTLC), marker assay (HPLC), residual solvents, heavy metals, microbiology and pesticide residues, each with its method, specification and result for that lot.
Keep berries and extract sealed in lined containers, cool, dry and dark. Extracts are hygroscopic and cake if left open. Suppliers set shelf life or retest dates and repeat the marker assay at retest.
Health Canada's chaste tree natural health product monograph lists Vitex agnus-castus (chasteberry, vitex) with the dried fruit as the source part.
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