Casuarictin (Monomeric Ellagitannin · Ellagitannin Building Block)

Compound	Casuarictin
Chemical class	Tannin — Ellagitannin (monomeric; galloyl-glucose-HHDP)
CAS	79786-01-9
Primary source	Punica granatum (pomegranate); Rubus idaeus (raspberry); Casuarina spp.
Key applications	Ellagitannin monomer; antioxidant; urolithin precursor
Claim strength	Emerging
Typical form	Ellagitannin-rich extract (pomegranate 40% ellagic acid; raspberry) — casuarictin within the tannin fraction
Buy from Herbuno	Pomegranate Extract Powder | Anar → Red Raspberry Extract Powder →

Name origin: Casuarictin takes its name from Casuarina, the genus from which it was first characterised. Structurally it is a monomeric ellagitannin, molecular weight about 936: a glucose core esterified with galloyl groups and with hexahydroxydiphenoyl (HHDP) units, the latter formed by oxidative C-C coupling of adjacent galloyl residues on a galloylglucose precursor. That biosynthetic relationship makes casuarictin a direct chemical descendant of the galloylglucoses documented elsewhere in this batch, and the monomer from which the larger Rubus ellagitannins are assembled Klewicka 2018. Traditional use: Casuarictin has no separate traditional identity; it reaches the diet within ellagitannin-rich foods and medicinal plants — pomegranate, raspberries, and other tannin-bearing species — whose astringency is a direct sensory consequence of their hydrolysable tannin content. Pomegranate in particular carries deep medicinal and symbolic histories across the Mediterranean, Middle East, and South Asia. Research trajectory: Casuarictin's importance is largely structural and biosynthetic. It is the monomer whose dimerisation gives sanguiin H-6 and whose trimerisation gives lambertianin C, the two dominant ellagitannins of raspberry, formed by intermolecular C-O bonds between an HHDP group and a galloyl group on a neighbouring monomer Klewicka 2018. Comprehensive review of the ellagitannins places casuarictin within the hydrolysable tannin pool alongside punicalagin, geraniin, and sanguiin H-6, and emphasises the shared fate of these compounds: low solubility, poor membrane permeability, rapid intestinal hydrolysis to ellagic acid, and subsequent microbial conversion to urolithins, which mediate much of the observed biology Ellagitannin review 2025. Commercial source: Casuarictin is delivered within the ellagitannin fraction of Pomegranate Extract Powder (40% ellagic acid) and Red Raspberry Extract Powder from Herbuno.

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Evidence for Casuarictin Applications

Ellagitannin building block: Casuarictin (about 936 g/mol) is the monomeric unit from which the major Rubus ellagitannins are constructed: sanguiin H-6 is its dimer and lambertianin C its trimer, formed through intermolecular C-O bonds between an HHDP group and a galloyl group on a neighbouring monomer Klewicka 2018. Understanding casuarictin is therefore prerequisite to understanding the raspberry ellagitannin profile. Claim strength: Emerging.

Urolithin precursor: As with all high-molecular-weight ellagitannins, casuarictin has low solubility and poor membrane permeability, and it undergoes rapid intestinal hydrolysis and decomposition to ellagic acid and subsequently to urolithins — the microbial metabolites now thought to mediate most of the health-associated effects of this compound class Ellagitannin review 2025. Claim strength: Emerging.

Antioxidant and antimicrobial activity: Ellagitannins as a class show potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer effects in preclinical study, and casuarictin sits within that group pharmacology as one of the representative hydrolysable tannins Ellagitannin review 2025. Raspberry ellagitannin preparations show demonstrable antifungal activity in vitro and in situ Klewicka 2018. Claim strength: Emerging.

Evidence disparity within the class: The ellagitannin literature is markedly uneven: the vast majority of mechanistic and clinical work focuses on punicalagin, ellagic acid, and the urolithins, while casuarictin and several other representatives are far less studied in their own right Ellagitannin review 2025. This is an honest limitation on what can be claimed for the individual compound. Claim strength: Emerging.

Biosynthetic origin: The HHDP group that defines casuarictin and the ellagitannins is formed by intramolecular oxidative C-C coupling of suitably oriented neighbouring galloyl residues on galloylglucoses, placing casuarictin directly downstream of the gallotannin pathway Klewicka 2018. Claim strength: Emerging.

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Dosage & Formulator Specification

No isolated casuarictin human dosing standard exists, and it is not offered as a purified compound. It is delivered within the ellagitannin fraction of tannin-rich extracts, and the practical specification is total ellagitannins or, more commonly, ellagic acid content by HPLC — ellagic acid being the hydrolysis product that ellagitannins release and therefore the standard commercial marker.

Pomegranate Extract Powder standardised to 40% ellagic acid and Red Raspberry Extract Powder both deliver casuarictin within their tannin fractions, and both are available from Herbuno. Neither is standardised to casuarictin specifically, and a formulator should understand that this is the industry norm rather than a shortcoming: individual ellagitannins are rarely quantified commercially because they hydrolyse readily, and ellagic acid equivalents are the meaningful and stable measure.

The pharmacokinetics govern everything about how this material should be positioned. Ellagitannins are not absorbed intact in any meaningful quantity — they are too large, too polar, and too poorly permeable. They hydrolyse in the gut to ellagic acid, and colonic microbiota convert that to urolithins, which are the metabolites that actually reach the circulation. This has a direct consequence for formulation: the biological effect of an ellagitannin ingredient depends on the consumer's gut microbiota, and urolithin-producer status varies substantially between individuals. Claims built on the in vitro activity of the intact tannin misrepresent what happens in vivo.

This monograph documents casuarictin as a formulator reference within the HerbIQ index, connecting it to sanguiin H-6 and lambertianin C (its oligomers), to the galloylglucoses upstream of it, and to punicalagin, geraniin, and ellagic acid elsewhere in the library.

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Frequently Asked Questions — Casuarictin

What is casuarictin?
Casuarictin is a monomeric ellagitannin — a hydrolysable tannin built on a glucose core bearing galloyl and hexahydroxydiphenoyl (HHDP) groups. With a molecular weight of about 936, it is the structural monomer from which the larger Rubus ellagitannins sanguiin H-6 (a dimer) and lambertianin C (a trimer) are built.

Where is casuarictin found?
It occurs in ellagitannin-rich plants including pomegranate, raspberry and other Rubus species, and Casuarina (from which it takes its name). It sits within the same hydrolysable tannin pool as punicalagin, geraniin, and the other ellagitannins documented in HerbIQ.

Which Herbuno product contains casuarictin?
Pomegranate Extract Powder (standardised to 40% ellagic acid) and Red Raspberry Extract Powder both deliver casuarictin within their ellagitannin fractions. Neither is standardised to casuarictin specifically; ellagic acid is the practical marker, since ellagitannins hydrolyse to release it.

What happens to casuarictin in the body?
Like other ellagitannins, casuarictin has low solubility and poor membrane permeability, so it is not absorbed intact to any meaningful degree. It is hydrolysed in the gut to release ellagic acid, which colonic microbiota then convert into urolithins — and it is these urolithin metabolites that are thought to mediate most of the biological effects attributed to ellagitannins.

Related compounds: Sanguiin H-6, Punicalagin, Ellagic Acid, Geraniin

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Claim-strength scale – High = multiple human RCTs; Moderate = limited trials or strong preclinical convergence; Emerging = early-stage lab or animal data.

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