

The suspension is cooled, filtered and treated with ultraviolet light.Īs you can see, this is not a truly natural process, since it is treated with hydrochloric acid and ammonium chloride. No hydrochloric acid residue remains after the reaction.

The amount of ammonium chloride remaining in the finished GSE is 15–19% the amount of ascorbic acid remaining is 2.5–3.0%.Ĥ.- The ammonia mixture is subjected to catalytic conversion using natural catalysts, which include hydrochloric acid and natural enzymes. This concentrated powder is dissolved in vegetable glycerin and heated.ģ.- And here the synthesis phase begins: Food grade ammonium chloride and ascorbic acid (which, in case you didn’t know, is vitamin C of the same that can be purchased in a vitamin supplement) are added and this mixture is heated under pressure.

The powder is dissolved in purified water and distilled to remove fiber and pectin.Ģ.- The distilled suspension is spray dried at low temperatures to form a concentrated flavonoid powder. The process of making grapefruit seed extract:ġ.- The pulp and the grapefruit seed are dried and ground until obtaining a fine powder. To clarify it, we are going to detail the synthesis process of grapefruit seed extract. So where is the deception? In its composition it is clearly specified that it is not a natural preservative, although it is originally one.
#Grapefruit seed extract free
So even though GSE appears free of other contaminants, it is primarily made up of diphenol hydroxybenzene, a synthetic compound that is, in any case, not classified as certified organic on the Mountain Rose Herbs website. Mountain Rose Herbs, one of the most respected and trusted suppliers of organic herbs, extracts and essential oils, lists the composition of the pure GSE they sell (which is probably from the Citricidal brand):ĭiphenol hydroxybenzene (bioflavinoid grapefruit quaternary compound) - 58.5% But is this really what the main brands producing GSE (grapefruit seed extract, in English) sell us ?: No, it is not this. Logically, a natural extract of grapefruit seed and pulp in ethanol or glycerin, does not have any antibacterial properties. To begin with, we want to clarify the exact and real composition of this extract and its synthesis process. However, in this article we want to offer a different perspective. In a blog post on natural cosmetics by Mar de Jabón this is very clear: The discredit about this preservative comes from sources that after analyzing the commercial extracts deduce that they are contaminated, mainly, of Benzethonium Chloride, which, according to these sources, is the true responsible for the bactericidal action of the grapefruit seed extract since this pure extract and without contaminating it has no effect against molds or bacteria. Much is being speculated lately about this synthetic preservative that is obtained from the polyphenols of grapefruit pulp and seeds.
