Ashwagandha Root

Nagori root, cut & sifted and powder by withanolide assay

CBIL brokers Indian ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root from the Nagori belt in Rajasthan and the Neemuch and Mandsaur growing areas of Madhya Pradesh, in the three forms buyers contract against: whole root, cut-and-sifted (typically 5–20 mm) and powder milled to 80–100 mesh. Withanolide assay is the variable that prices the lot — root material commonly tests 0.3–0.8% total withanolides by HPLC, and extractors specify a floor because their yield is a direct function of it. Nagori root is the grade that carries the premium: it is thinner, paler and cleaner, with a higher root-to-crown ratio, and crown and stem admixture is the single most common reason a lot assays below spec. Shade-drying matters here rather than being a marketing line — sun-dried root loses assay and darkens, which shows up in both the certificate and the finished powder colour.

Buyers split cleanly by form. Extractors and standardised-ingredient houses take whole or cut-and-sifted root, because they mill on their own line and want to see what they are buying; nutraceutical and ayurvedic formulators packing capsules take powder to a defined mesh. If you are buying powder, specify mesh and the withanolide floor together — powder from crown-heavy root looks identical and assays lower. Every lot is arranged against SGS or Intertek certification of withanolides by HPLC, moisture, total and acid-insoluble ash, heavy metals to Codex limits, pesticide residue and microbiological load (total plate count, yeast and mould, Salmonella, E. coli), with steam-sterilised and ETO-free options for EU and US entry and organic-certified lots subject to crop. Supply is structured in 20kg and 25kg PP bags and lined cartons, container-load, on FOB, CFR and CIF terms.