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This process utilises carbon dioxide at critical temperatures and pressures to extract the active ingredients of the neem leaf, without the usual high temperatures or harsh chemicals. This results in a far more concentrated extract, which resembles the herb more closely.
Our neem is extracted shortly after harvesting to capture all the healing phytochemicals (the plant's natural ingredients) with superior potency and purity. The delivery system is a tiny gel capsule (which eliminates the naturally occurring bitterness found in neem). Just one of these gel caps has a potency ten times greater than the equivalent of Neem Leaf Extract. Recommended dose is one capsule daily, in the morning, with breakfast.
Many conventional extracts use heat, alcohol or other chemical solvents such as butylene or propylene glycols, acetone and other petroleum derivatives. Super Critical Extracts are superior for many reasons. Beneficial phytochemicals are easily damaged by heat, and there is a growing desire for alcohol and solvent free natural extracts. Additionally, many phytochemicals are not soluble in water and alcohol or oil. The supercritical extraction process enables delivery of a broad spectrum of phytochemicals, including both the lipophobic (water soluble) and lipophilic (oil soluble) isolates.
Conventional water and alcohol extracts contain only the lipophobic components. However, it is often the lipophilic components that are the most beneficial. The Super Critical Extraction process results in an herbal extract that is very potent (often more than 100 times stronger than conventional extracts), very pure and broad spectrum, closely resembling the herb in its' whole form.
In addition, this extraction process uses only carbon dioxide as a solvent, which once the pressure is let off, evaporates completely from the extract - leaving it totally pure and free of any solvent residues.When you increase pressure, temperature also increases. When you compress a gas, it will become a liquid. The 'Super Critical Point' is the exact temperature and pressure at which a gas becomes a liquid. In the case of carbon dioxide, this is a relatively low 31deg. C
Compressed CO2 at this point has the density of a liquid, but the properties of a gas. As such this aids in faster diffusion of the phytochemicals (almost twice that of other liquids), whilst the liquid-like state helps in better solubility of the phytochemicals. Once the extraction is complete, the pressure is released and the CO2 is harmlessly released.
In reality, the raw botanical is placed into the extractor vessel. Liquid CO2 is heated to its' supercritical state, and pumped into the extractor. The SCO2 mixes with the botanical, and carries the desired extract into a separator tank, where pressure and temperature are controlled. The extract is precipitated in the separator, and CO2 is recycled into the extractor via a condenser. |
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