Knowledge
What Does a 20:1 Extract Mean?
A botanical extract ratio describes the relationship between the weight of the starting plant material and the weight of the finished extract.
The ratio, plainly stated
Twenty units produce one.
For a non-liquid botanical extract labeled 20:1, the first number represents the weight of the starting plant material and the second represents the weight of the finished extract produced from it.
That can mean 20 kilograms of dried botanical material used to produce 1 kilogram of finished extract, or 20 grams used to produce 1 gram. The units can change; the relationship remains the same.
This is the extract-labeling convention established by the American Herbal Products Association for quantitative ratios on non-liquid herbal extracts.
A like-for-like comparison
How 20:1 compares with 10:1 and 5:1
When the botanical, plant part, starting-material condition and extract basis are comparable:
Starting botanical material to finished extract
Twice the starting-material ratio of 5:1
Twice 10:1 and four times 5:1
This comparison concerns the amount of starting botanical material represented per unit of finished extract. It does not, by itself, establish that one product has twice or four times the concentration of every chemical constituent—or twice or four times the biological effect.
What the number tells you
A ratio is useful, but it is not a complete specification.
A 20:1 ratio tells you how much starting plant material was used relative to the resulting extract. It gives a concrete measure that a phrase such as “concentrated extract” cannot provide on its own.
A different kind of language
“Full spectrum” is not a concentration ratio.
In botanical supplement marketing, “full spectrum” is commonly used to suggest whole plant material or a broad range of naturally occurring constituents. It has no single quantitative value.
The phrase does not tell you whether a preparation is 1:1, 5:1, 10:1 or 20:1. It does not state how much starting botanical material is represented, the extraction yield or the measured level of any particular constituent.
A whole-herb preparation and a concentrated extract can each be legitimate formulation choices. The important distinction is that an extract ratio provides a number. “Full spectrum” does not.
At Shining Solace
Two products, one clearly stated ratio
Both extracts use a 20:1 ratio, with the plant part identified for each formula.
Sources and further reading