Frequently Asked Questions
What is shikimic acid?
Shikimic acid is a compound plants make while building amino acids, and it is unusually concentrated in green sweet gum balls and in star anise. It is the reason most people go looking for sweet gum in the first place. We do not isolate it. Our extract is whole sweet gum ball steeped in alcohol, with everything else the ball contains still in there.
What are sweet gum balls?
They are the spiky seed pods of Liquidambar styraciflua, the sweet gum tree, which grows wild across the southeastern United States. Most people know them as the things that hurt to step on barefoot in the yard. We gather ours green, off trees on and around our land in Opp, Alabama, while they are still soft enough to cut.
When do you gather sweet gum balls?
Green, in late spring and early summer, well before they turn brown and woody and drop. Green is what matters here, because a brown ball on the ground has already given up most of what we want out of it. That short window is why the extract sells out some years and why we cannot make more on demand.
How do you make sweet gum ball extract?
We wash the green balls, cut or crush them, and steep them in alcohol for several weeks, then press and filter. Nothing gets heated and nothing gets isolated. What ends up in the bottle is the whole ball in solution, which is why the color runs dark and the smell is resinous and piney.
How do you use sweet gum extract?
We put a dropperful into a little water and drink it down. Shake the bottle first, because the resins settle out. The taste is strong and piney, so some people would rather take it in juice or in tea. Keep the bottle at room temperature and out of direct light and it will hold for years.
How is Star Anise Extract different from sweet gum?
Star anise is the other plant carrying a lot of shikimic acid. It does not grow in Alabama, so this one does not come off our land the way the sweet gum does. It tastes like licorice, which most people find easier to get down than sweet gum. If you want to know exactly how we source it, ask us and we will tell you.
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
