Bamboo Extract

What is Bamboo Extract?

Bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris and related species) is one of the fastest-growing plants on Earth, capable of growing up to 90 cm per day under optimal conditions. It belongs to the grass family (Poaceae) and is cultivated across tropical and temperate regions of Asia, where it has served as a building material, food source and traditional botanical for thousands of years. The young shoots of several species are eaten as vegetables in many Asian cuisines.

The plant is a botanical source of silicon dioxide, concentrated in the stem. The Nutri-Leaf bamboo shoots extract is a 10:1 extract, standardised to contain 75% silicon dioxide — meaning ten parts of raw bamboo shoots are used to produce one part of extract, and the finished extract is standardised so that silicon dioxide makes up 75% of it.

Silica in plants

Silicon dioxide — commonly called silica — is a natural component of plant tissues. Plants take up silicon from the soil and deposit it in their cell walls, which is why bamboo stems are both flexible and firm. Silica has no Nutrient Reference Value (NRV) under current EU regulations, and no nutrient-function claim is authorised for it. We include bamboo extract in the formula for what it is — a plant ingredient with a long history of use — and we state it on the label exactly that way, without benefit claims attached to it.

Traditional use

Bamboo has a long history of use in traditional herbal systems across Asia, including Traditional Chinese Medicine. Different parts of the plant — shoots, leaves and stem — appear in traditional texts and practices. That history is part of the plant's identity, but it is not a substitute for the EU rules that govern what a supplement label may say: for bamboo, no benefit claim is authorised, and we make none.

Why we use Bamboo Extract in Nutri-Leaf formulas

Nutri-Leaf Skin Hair & Nails includes bamboo shoots extract alongside biotin, zinc, copper, vitamin C, vitamin B12 and three other plant extracts (millet seed extract, nettle leaf extract and horsetail herb powder). The hair, skin and nail benefits in that formula come from the authorised nutrients: biotin contributes to the maintenance of normal hair and normal skin, zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal hair, skin and nails, copper contributes to normal skin and hair pigmentation, and vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin. The plant extracts are included as botanical ingredients.

Products containing Bamboo Extract

The Nutri-Leaf product featuring bamboo shoots extract is Skin Hair & Nails. The formula is manufactured at our FSSC 22000 certified facility in Germany and uses a plant-based HPMC capsule shell.

For the full picture on the nutrients behind hair, skin and nail nutrition, read the Beauty from Within guide. Visit the Ingredient Philosophy page for more on our botanical sourcing principles and how we decide what belongs in a formula.

Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.