Convolvulus pluricaulis Choisy · Family: Convolvulaceae · Whole Plant Extract
Shankhpushpi is not one plant. It is a vernacular name that at least four unrelated botanicals answer to across different regions of India — which means a purchase order saying "shankhpushpi" has not yet specified what you are buying. We supply Convolvulus pluricaulis, declared by binomial and confirmed analytically against the other three. CoA-backed supply from India.
Species Declared
C. pluricaulis ConfirmedThe clearest case of vernacular-name ambiguity in the Ayurvedic range
Shankhpushpi is a classical medhya rasayana — the Ayurvedic category for botanicals associated with intellect and cognition — and one of the most frequently specified nootropic ingredients in traditional formulation. It is also the clearest example in the entire Ayurvedic materia medica of a problem that quietly undermines botanical procurement: a vernacular name that does not identify a plant.
At least four botanically unrelated species are traded as shankhpushpi across different regions of India: Convolvulus pluricaulis (Convolvulaceae), Evolvulus alsinoides (also Convolvulaceae), Clitoria ternatea (Fabaceae — butterfly pea, a legume) and Canscora decussata (Gentianaceae). These are not varieties or grades of one plant. They are different species from three different families, with different chemistry.
This is not a modern degradation of the supply chain. It is a genuine regional divergence in classical usage that has persisted for centuries, and different Ayurvedic authorities have favoured different species. Which means a supplier sending you Evolvulus alsinoides against a shankhpushpi order may be supplying exactly what shankhpushpi means where they are, and the pharmacopoeial position is not uniform across all of them.
Our approach is the only one that resolves it: we declare the binomial and confirm it analytically. We supply Convolvulus pluricaulis Choisy, the species most commonly intended in commercial nootropic formulation, with the other three explicitly excluded on the certificate. If your formulation was developed on a different species — which is entirely possible — tell us, because that is a substitution you should make deliberately rather than discover.
What is in Convolvulus pluricaulis whole plant
The principal characterised fraction of C. pluricaulis, forming the basis of the HPLC profile used for species confirmation and batch consistency.
A coumarin reported in the plant and useful as a supporting analytical marker.
The wider phenolic fraction of the herb, contributing to the characteristic chromatographic pattern.
Trace alkaloidal constituents including shankhpushpine have been described in the literature on this species.
β-sitosterol and related constituents present in the whole herb.
Published phytochemistry attributed to "shankhpushpi" spans four species, so literature must be read against the binomial it studied — a constituent reported for Clitoria ternatea tells you nothing about Convolvulus pluricaulis.
Why formulators specify shankhpushpi by binomial
Four unrelated species answer to "shankhpushpi". Naming Convolvulus pluricaulis on the specification is the single control that makes the order unambiguous.
Documented in the Ayurvedic classical literature within the medhya category associated with intellect and cognition — the basis of its modern nootropic positioning.
The three look-alike species are excluded analytically rather than by assertion, using the flavonoid and scopoletin profile characteristic of C. pluricaulis.
The classical part for this botanical is the whole herb, and we declare it rather than leaving the part open.
If your formulation was built on a different shankhpushpi species, we will tell you so and quote that species separately rather than silently supplying ours.
A small herbaceous plant with a broad Indian range; collection status is declared per batch.
These are functional and physico-chemical properties of the actives; SV Botanica does not make medical or therapeutic claims for this ingredient.
Native ratio and profile-reported grades
| Grade | Standardisation | Form | Best For | Solubility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shankhpushpi Extract 10:1 Standard | Native 10:1 ratio; species confirmed, profile reported | Green-brown to brown fine powder, ≥95% through 40 mesh | Nootropic supplements, Ayurvedic formats, capsules | Partially water-soluble |
| Shankhpushpi Extract 20:1 Concentrated | Native 20:1 ratio; species confirmed | Brown fine powder | Low-dose formats, concentrated blends | Partially water-soluble |
| Shankhpushpi Extract WS Water-soluble | Cold-water-soluble spray-dried; species confirmed | Brown free-flowing powder | Beverages, shots, sachets, syrups | Cold-water-soluble |
| Shankhpushpi Powder Raw milled | Milled whole plant — not an extract | Green-brown coarse to fine powder | Churna and classical preparations | Dispersible |
| Alternative Species On request | E. alsinoides or C. ternatea — quoted separately by binomial | Species-dependent | Formulations built on a different species | Species-dependent |
The last row exists because the species question is real and we would rather handle it openly than pretend it away. If your product was developed on Evolvulus alsinoides or Clitoria ternatea — both of which are legitimately called shankhpushpi in parts of India — switching to Convolvulus pluricaulis is a change of botanical, not a change of supplier. We will quote the species you actually need, by binomial, rather than sending ours and letting you find out. Every grade of our standard product is supplied as Convolvulus pluricaulis Choisy, confirmed by HPLC, with E. alsinoides, C. ternatea and C. decussata excluded, from the whole plant. Milled powder is quoted separately from extract.
Shankhpushpi Extract is bought in five forms. The standardised extract is the stocked item; granulated and dispersible grades are produced on request and raw botanical forms are sourced against a confirmed order.
| Form | What it is | Specification basis | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standardised extract powder | Convolvulus pluricaulis whole herb extract, dried and milled | 10:1 native extract, species confirmed | Stocked |
| Granulated (direct-compression) | Extract granulated for tablet lines | Same marker, declared on the granule | On request |
| Water-dispersible / soluble | Extract in a dispersible matrix for beverages, gummies and sachets | Marker declared on the matrix basis; carrier named | On request |
| Whole-herb powder (non-extracted) | Dried Convolvulus pluricaulis whole herb, milled to mesh | Botanical identity by TLC; heavy metals and microbial panel | On enquiry, subject to lot; phytosanitary certificate usually required |
| Cut herb (tea-bag cut) | Dried herb, tea-bag cut or cut & sifted | Identity, moisture, foreign matter | On enquiry; for teas and in-house extraction |
A marker percentage without its assay method is not a specification; ask for the method and the plant part on every quotation. Read Shankhpushpi Extract: A Complete Buyer's Guide, The Four-Species Problem: Why Shankhpushpi Means Four Different Plants and Verifying Shankhpushpi: What TLC Settles and What It Does Not before comparing offers.
Full product specification for Shankhpushpi Whole Plant Dry Extract 10:1. Values are specification limits, not batch results; a batch-specific CoA is issued per shipment.
| Parameter | Specification / Limit | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Botanical Source | Convolvulus pluricaulis Choisy | — |
| Plant Family | Convolvulaceae | — |
| Part Used | Whole plant (herb) | — |
| Country of Origin | India | — |
| Appearance | Fine powder | Organoleptic |
| Colour | Green-brown to brown* | Organoleptic |
| Odour | Characteristic | Organoleptic |
| Taste | Characteristic, slightly bitter | Organoleptic |
| Identification | Corresponds to C. pluricaulis reference — positive | By TLC |
| Species Confirmation | Corresponds to C. pluricaulis; E. alsinoides / C. ternatea / C. decussata excluded | By HPLC |
| Flavonoid & Scopoletin Profile | Corresponds to reference — reported per batch | By HPLC |
| Extraction Ratio | 10:1 native (grade-dependent) | Declaration |
| Foreign Organic Matter | NMT 2% — declaration provided | Declaration |
| Loss on Drying (at 105°C, % w/w) | NMT 5.0 | IP-2014 |
| pH (1% w/v solution) | 5 – 7 | IP-2014 |
| Bulk Density (g/ml) | NLT 0.35 | IP-2014 |
| Particle Size (#40 mesh, % w/w) | NLT 95 | Sieve |
| Total Ash (% w/w) | NMT 12 | IP-2014 |
| Acid Insoluble Ash (% w/w) | NMT 2.5 | IP-2014 |
| Residual Solvent (Ethanol, ppm) | NMT 5,000 | By GC |
| Lead (ppm) | NMT 1.0 | ICP-MS |
| Arsenic (ppm) | NMT 1.0 | ICP-MS |
| Cadmium (ppm) | NMT 0.3 | ICP-MS |
| Mercury (ppm) | NMT 0.1 | ICP-MS |
| Pesticide Residues | Complies (EU MRL, on request) | GC-MS / LC-MS/MS |
| Ethylene Oxide (ETO) | Not treated — declaration provided | LC-MS/MS (on request) |
| Aflatoxins B1 / Total (ppb) | NMT 2 / NMT 4 | HPLC-FLD |
| Total Plate Count (cfu/g) | NMT 10,000 | USP <2021> |
| Yeast & Moulds / Fungi (cfu/g) | NMT 100 | USP <2021> |
| Escherichia coli | Absent | USP <2022> |
| Salmonella sp. | Absent | USP <2022> |
| Staphylococcus aureus | Absent | USP <2022> |
| Collection Status | Cultivated / wild-collected (declared per batch) | Declaration |
| Kosher / Halal | Certified (on request) | Certification |
| Shelf Life | 36 months from date of manufacture, in original packed condition | — |
| Storage | Cool, dry place away from light and moisture, in tightly sealed containers | — |
*The product is of herbal origin; slight colour variation may occur due to geographical and seasonal variation in the raw material. The species line on this specification is the whole point of the document. "Shankhpushpi" is a vernacular name shared by at least four unrelated species across three plant families — Convolvulus pluricaulis, Evolvulus alsinoides, Clitoria ternatea and Canscora decussata — and that divergence is genuine regional classical usage rather than a modern supply-chain failure. A purchase order naming only the vernacular term therefore has not specified a plant, and a supplier filling it with a different species may be acting entirely in good faith by the conventions of their region. We supply C. pluricaulis Choisy, confirm it by HPLC profile against reference material, and name the excluded species explicitly. Note also that whole-plant material carries a higher acid-insoluble ash limit than a root or seed extract, because a small herb harvested at ground level brings soil with it; 2.5% reflects that reality rather than laxity. A current Certificate of Analysis and MSDS are issued with every batch.
From named species to confirmed extract — binomial-controlled, profiled, documented
Raw Material & Authentication: The extract is prepared from Convolvulus pluricaulis whole plant, with species established analytically rather than inherited from a vernacular purchase order. This matters more here than on almost any other botanical we supply, because the substitution risk does not come from fraud — it comes from three other plants legitimately bearing the same name in different regions. A collector or trader supplying Evolvulus alsinoides against a shankhpushpi order may be entirely correct by local convention. Only the binomial resolves it, so we specify by binomial and confirm by HPLC profile.
Manufacturing & Testing: Shankhpushpi Extract is manufactured at certified facilities in India. Each batch runs identity by TLC, species confirmation and flavonoid/scopoletin profile by HPLC, loss on drying, pH, bulk density, total and acid-insoluble ash, mesh, residual solvent by GC, heavy metals by ICP-MS, aflatoxins by HPLC-FLD, pesticide residue screening and a complete USP microbiological panel before release. Foreign organic matter is controlled at the raw-material stage, which matters for a small herb harvested from mixed ground vegetation.
Documentation: Every shipment is supplied against a batch-specific Certificate of Analysis stating the species by binomial with the excluded species named, the HPLC profile result, the whole-plant declaration, the extraction ratio and collection status, together with an MSDS. Halal, Kosher and Organic certification are available — see our guides on EU pesticide MRL compliance and EU import requirements for botanical extracts.
What backs every batch of Shankhpushpi extract
Key information for global product registration and labelling
The defining issue for this ingredient, and one we would rather state than assume a buyer knows. "Shankhpushpi" does not identify a plant. At least four species from three families are traded under the name across India, with genuine regional divergence in classical usage behind it. For a regulated market this creates a concrete problem: a product whose label ingredient is a vernacular name has not declared its botanical, and a specification that does not name a binomial cannot be audited. Any buyer supplying into a market with botanical-declaration requirements should ensure the binomial appears on the specification, the certificate and the finished-product documentation. If you are switching supplier on this ingredient, verify that the incoming material is the same species as the outgoing one — not merely the same name.
Supplied as a botanical active with full analytical documentation. Shankhpushpi has documented classical use within the Ayurvedic medhya rasayana category, supporting traditional-use framing in markets that recognise it. Cognitive and memory claims are tightly controlled in most regulated markets and are generally unavailable for botanicals in the EU; traditional-use framing travels considerably further. For EU-bound product, confirm the novel food position for a concentrated extract — noting that the answer may differ by species, which is one more reason the binomial matters. Claim strategy belongs in your regulatory review. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Supplied from India by SV Botanica — FSSAI Central Licence holder and an APEDA-registered exporter — from the species' native range. Collection status is declared per batch. Shipped against a batch-specific Certificate of Analysis carrying the binomial, the species confirmation and the excluded species, with export documentation available on request.
Deep-dive articles on shankhpushpi extract for formulators, buyers, and brand owners
Why a purchase order saying "shankhpushpi" has not yet specified a plant.
TechnicalConvolvulus, Evolvulus, Clitoria and Canscora — and why all four are legitimately called shankhpushpi.
QualityHow HPLC profiling separates the four, and what a TLC identity line does not settle.
ApplicationsFormats, brahmi combinations, and reading literature that spans four plants.
QualityThe one line that matters most, and the ash figures that look wrong but aren't.
SourcingA small herb from mixed ground vegetation — collection, foreign matter and traceability.
Other cognitive and traditional actives from our range
Technical and commercial questions answered by our ingredients team
Convolvulus pluricaulis whole plant extract, declared by binomial and confirmed by HPLC with the three look-alike species excluded. Tell us which species your formulation was built on. Samples for qualified buyers.
Supplied as a bulk ingredient for further manufacture. Buyers are responsible for compliance with the regulations of their destination market. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
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