There is a question worth asking before you compare two cissus quotations, and it is not about price. It is whether the two ketosterone percentages in front of you were produced by the same analytical method — because if they were not, you are comparing two numbers rather than two materials, and the cheaper one is not necessarily the weaker one.
What Is Cissus Quadrangularis?
Cissus extract is prepared from the aerial stem of Cissus quadrangularis L., a succulent climbing vine of the Vitaceae family — the grape family — native to India, Sri Lanka and parts of Africa and Southeast Asia.
Its Hindi name is hadjod and its Sanskrit name asthisamhari. Both translate as approximately "bone joiner", which is among the more specific traditional indications in the Ayurvedic range and the basis of the ingredient's modern bone-and-joint positioning. In the last two decades it has also become a fixture in sports nutrition.
The Specification Problem
Almost every cissus quotation in the market is written on the same basis: ketosterones, 2.5% / 5% / 10%.
Here is what that specification actually is.
"Ketosterone" is a class, not a compound. It denotes ketone-bearing steroidal constituents rather than a single defined molecule with a universally agreed reference standard — unlike curcumin, piperine or withanolides, where the marker is one identifiable thing measured against one accepted standard.
Because it is a class-based assay, the number depends on the analytical method used and what that method calibrates against. Different laboratories, different approaches, different figures — on identical material.
This is not a scandal and it is not an accusation. A supplier quoting 5% by a method they have used consistently for years is quoting an honest measurement. The difficulty arises entirely at the point of comparison:
- Two suppliers' 5% figures may not be equivalent;
- Switching supplier on the number can change the material you receive;
- An independent laboratory using a third method may match neither certificate.
What to Do About It
The fix is unglamorous and effective: require the method on the certificate.
"Ketosterones NLT 5%" is a number. "Ketosterones NLT 5% by [named method]" is a specification. Once the method is on the document, the figure becomes interpretable, quotations become comparable, and third-party verification becomes possible.
The technical detail of why methods diverge is covered in our guide to the ketosterone assay.
Ask for a Second Handle
Beyond the primary assay, ask for constituents that are analytically well-defined in this plant:
- Quercetin and flavonoids — well characterised in the aerial stem and straightforward by HPLC;
- β-sitosterol and the phytosterol profile;
- Triterpenoids present in the stem.
A supporting HPLC profile does two useful things: it characterises the material independently of a class-based assay, and it makes crude sterol-spiking considerably harder to hide, because added material distorts the pattern rather than simply raising one figure.
The Part: Aerial Stem
The classical and commercial part is the quadrangular aerial stem. Root and leaf differ in composition and are cheaper.
Require an aerial-stem-only declaration with an acid-insoluble ash limit alongside it. As with most stem materials, soil carry-over is the ordinary contamination route.
Note that total ash runs high on cissus because the stem is genuinely calcium-rich — which is, after all, consistent with what the plant is used for. Read acid-insoluble ash for cleanliness and do not be alarmed by total ash alone.
If You Sell Into Sports Nutrition, Read This Part
Cissus sells heavily into sports and active nutrition. That category has a specific, well-documented history of products being adulterated with synthetic anabolic agents.
Now put that next to the specification: cissus is standardised on a steroidal fraction, measured by a class-based assay, in a market with a commercial incentive to show a high number.
We are not suggesting this is common in cissus supply. We are pointing out that the structure — class assay, steroidal fraction, sports channel — is exactly the shape where an explicit control is worth its cost. Add banned-substance screening to your specification if you supply tested athletes or a certified sports channel. We offer it by LC-MS/MS on request.
One clarification worth making, because the terminology invites it: the ketosterones described in cissus are plant constituents, and the assay figure says nothing about anabolic activity. The screening recommendation is about what might be added to material, not about what the plant contains.
Grades
| Grade | Basis | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 2.5% ketosterones | Method declared | Bone and joint supplements |
| 5% ketosterones | Method declared | Sports nutrition, concentrated blends |
| 10% ketosterones | Method declared | Low-dose and premium formats |
| Native ratio 10:1 / 20:1 | Full-spectrum | Classical hadjod formulations |
| Milled stem powder | Not an extract | Churna preparations |
Milled stem powder is a legitimate product priced quite differently from extract; it should never be quoted against an extract specification.
The EU Question
If your market is the EU, settle the novel food position before you formulate.
Cissus quadrangularis appears in the EU Novel Food Catalogue, and as with many concentrated botanical extracts the position can differ between a traditional preparation and a modern standardised extract at a given concentration. That determination depends on your exact specification and intended use, so it belongs with your regulatory reviewer — not with a supplier's reassurance. We will provide whatever documentation the review needs.
What to Require
- Species by binomial — Cissus quadrangularis L.
- Ketosterone assay with the method named, not a bare percentage.
- Supporting HPLC profile — flavonoids, quercetin, phytosterols.
- Aerial-stem-only declaration, root and leaf excluded.
- Acid-insoluble ash NMT 2%, read separately from total ash.
- Banned-substance screening where the sports channel requires it.
- Heavy metals by ICP-MS, aflatoxins, full microbiological panel.
SV Botanica supplies cissus quadrangularis extract from India against all of the above. Request a quotation or sample.
Source Method-Declared Cissus Quadrangularis Extract from India
Cissus quadrangularis aerial stem extract · ketosterone assay method declared · flavonoid and phytosterol profile by HPLC · banned-substance screening available · CoA-backed · samples for qualified buyers