What does DER mean and why is it important in supplements?

What does DER actually mean?

DER is an abbreviation of the English term Drug Extract Ratio or Extract Ratio . In our country, it is most often translated as extract ratio .
It shows how much raw material (plant, root, fruit...) was used to obtain a certain amount of extract in the supplement .

For example:
If it says DER 100:1 on the package, it means that 100 grams of raw material was used for 1 gram of extract.

👉 The higher the number, the more concentrated the extract.

Why is it good for DER to be as high as possible?

1. Stronger concentration of active substances
When the DER is high, we get a larger amount of useful substances in a smaller dose. This means that the capsule or powder has more power than when the DER is low.

2. Smaller amount of unnecessary materials
With plants, in addition to useful substances, there are also fibers, water, sugars... which are not necessarily bad, but do not bring the intended benefit. A high DER means that what is not needed has been removed , and what is most important has been retained.

3. Easier dosing
When the extract is more concentrated, the user does not need to ingest large amounts of powder or capsules to get the effect.

How is a high DER achieved?

The process of getting high DER is like making juice from fruit :

• If you make lemonade by just squeezing half a lemon and adding lots of water - it's diluted.
• But if you take 10 lemons and squeeze them into a small glass , you get a very concentrated juice.

A similar principle is used with supplements:

1. The best quality parts of the plant are selected

2. The plant is dried and ground.

3. Application of extraction - water, alcohol or a combination of solvents are used to extract the active substances.

4. Removal of excess - everything that is not needed (fibers, sugars, impurities) is separated.

5. Condensation - active substances are "compressed" into a smaller volume.

The result is an extract with a high DER.

Example: Resveratrol and DER

Resveratrol is found naturally in grapes and in Japanese gorse (Polygonum cuspidatum). To eat the amount of resveratrol contained in one capsule of the extract, you would have to eat kilograms of grapes .

That's why DER is important: thanks to it, we get the concentrated power of nature in a capsule - without having to eat huge amounts of raw materials.

Finally: How to recognize a quality supplement?

When choosing a supplement, pay attention to the following:

• Is the DER clearly indicated on the packaging (eg 10:1, 20:1, 100:1)?
• Is the extract standardized - meaning that the percentage of active substance (eg 99% trans-resveratrol) has been confirmed?
• Does the manufacturer provide the results of independent laboratory tests ?

High DER + standardization = safe and powerful supplement.

The next time you're choosing a supplement, don't just look at the name of the ingredient, but also its DER . It's the best indicator of how much power you're really getting in a capsule or powder.