Page 15 - Technical Saw Palmetto Booklet

MTC Industries, Inc.
Herbsine Bioengineering Co., Ltd.

9. Color, Relative Density and Refractive Index

Color, relative density and refractive index are not mentioned in USP but EP 9.0
specifies relative density and refractive index.

SN-180401 UV-171023 EE-1800628 USP40 EP9.0 Test Method
Color（133.4nm） R6.0 Y2.8 R1.3 Y4.8 R7.2 Y3.6 N/A N/A Lovibond
Relative density（25℃） 0.9022 0.9020 0.8923 N/A 0.850-0.950 Hydrometer
Refractive Index 1.4526 1.4525 1.4486 N/A 1.40-1.50 Abbe refractometer
Table-7 Color, relative density, and refractive index ofvarious saw palmetto oils

The color of saw palmetto oil from different manufacturers
varies greatly. According to our experience, the factors
affecting the color of saw palmetto oil are the following:
1. The saw palmetto berries are grown and stocked for
longer time, the color of the extracted oil is darker.
2. The seed coat of saw palmetto berry is rich in pigment.
Removing the seed coat before production to obtain a
lighter color oil.
3. Different supercritical extraction technology (pressure,
temperature…) can also result in different color.
4. After dehydration, deacidification and refining process of supercritical extraction oil,
we can obtain nearly colorless product.
In addition, the main components of saw palmetto oil color include carotenoids,
chlorophyll, lutein, etc. These natural pigments are not stable. In fact, we have found
that saw palmetto oil begins to fade in about 7-15 days when it is exposed to light, and
the color is stable after becoming light yellow. We will verify data of this part by
acceleration test.

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