Stinging nettle
Stinging nettle is Urtica dioica, a perennial with stinging hairs that is cultivated and wild harvested across Europe, North America and Asia. Two different materials are traded: the leaf or herb top, dried for tea, powder and extracts, and the root, sold cut or as extracts. Drying or cooking deactivates the stinging hairs, and freeze-dried leaf is also sold for liquid and capsule products.
Suppliers sell different products under the same name. Specify the one you need.
Dried leaf and herb top for teas and further extraction, sold by cut size and color.
Dried leaf milled to a green powder for capsules, blends and foods.
Leaf freeze dried and milled, sold as a premium powder for capsules.
Dried root, cut for tea or extracted with water-alcohol; a different material from the leaf, so the plant part belongs on the spec.
Leaf or root from certified organic cultivation or certified wild collection.
Compare each result with your own specification when the lot arrives.
Keep leaf, root and powder sealed in lined bags or drums, cool, dry and out of direct light. Powders and dry extracts pick up moisture and cake once opened, so reseal containers and limit time open on the production floor. Shelf life or a retest date comes from the supplier's specification, and the marker assay is usually repeated at retest.
Leaf color, mineral content and markers vary with harvest timing and drying, so check each lot's COA and color against an approved sample. Record plant part, origin and harvest year, and keep leaf and root lots separate.
Facts from regulators and standards bodies, each linked to its source.
Health Canada's Stinging Nettle natural health product monograph lists Urtica dioica with herb top and root as source parts.
Source: webprod.hc-sc.gc.ca (opens in a new tab)The EU Novel Food status Catalogue entry for Urtica dioica (POL-NF-00767) lists the leaves as not novel in food and all plant parts as not novel in food supplements.
Source: ec.europa.eu (opens in a new tab)This is general information, not regulatory advice. Status differs by country and by how the ingredient is used, so check the rules for your product and market.
Manufacturers and distributors whose own websites say they sell it.
Distributor · Sacramento, CA
Starwest Botanicals is a Sacramento company that mills and sells bulk organic herbs, spices, teas and botanical powders by the pound and in 25 lb bags, with wholesale accounts for businesses.
Suppliers are in alphabetical order and none pays to appear. Each claim is checked against the supplier’s own website on the date shown. Ask for the specification sheet and a recent COA before you order, and confirm details with the supplier.
Common forms include leaf, cut and sifted, leaf powder, freeze-dried leaf, root, cut or extract and organic. Ask each supplier for the specification sheet of the exact grade they quote.
Expect identity, marker assay, heavy metals, microbiology, pesticide residues and physical tests, each with its method, specification and result for that lot.
Keep leaf, root and powder sealed in lined bags or drums, cool, dry and out of direct light. Powders and dry extracts pick up moisture and cake once opened, so reseal containers and limit time open on the production floor. Shelf life or a retest date comes from the supplier's specification, and the marker assay is usually repeated at retest.
Health Canada's Stinging Nettle natural health product monograph lists Urtica dioica with herb top and root as source parts. The EU Novel Food status Catalogue entry for Urtica dioica (POL-NF-00767) lists the leaves as not novel in food and all plant parts as not novel in food supplements.
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