Soursop (Graviola): a botanical guide
Soursop is the fruit of Annona muricata, a tropical tree of the custard-apple family. It is also listed in EFSA's compendium of botanicals reported to contain naturally occurring substances of possible concern for human health. That is why the information supplied with the product is worth reading before you take it.
- Latin binomial
- Annona muricata L.
- Plant family
- Annonaceae
- Part used
- Leaf (capsules); full-spectrum soursop (drops)
- Extract strength
- 30:1
- Per serving
- 450 mg (one capsule) or 600 mg (2 ml of drops)
- Allergens
- Free from common allergens; capsules are vegan
01 What soursop (graviola) is
The fruit is heart-shaped, green, covered in soft spines, and packed with white fibrous pulp. The tree carrying it is a small evergreen, native to the tropical Americas and the Caribbean, and now grown across the warm humid parts of South and Central America, the Caribbean, West Africa, and South and South-East Asia.
The name changes with the country. Soursop and graviola are the two you meet in English-language retail. In Spanish-speaking countries it is guanábana; in the French Caribbean, corossol.
Different parts of the tree go different ways. The fruit is eaten fresh, or pressed into juices and nectars. The leaf is what gets dried and extracted, and the leaf is what sits in our capsules. Soursop is a commercial fruiting crop, so the trees are overwhelmingly cultivated — orchards and smallholdings — rather than gathered from the wild.
- Other common names
- Graviola, guanábana, corossol, custard apple (loosely)
- Part used in our capsules
- Leaf
- Part used in our drops
- Full-spectrum soursop
- Where it grows
- Tropical and subtropical regions: the Americas, the Caribbean, West Africa, South and South-East Asia
- Wild or cultivated
- Predominantly cultivated
02 What's in our product
Understanding "30:1"
Both products use a 30:1 extract. The ratio is arithmetic, not marketing shorthand: 30 kilograms of dried raw soursop material processed down to 1 kilogram of finished extract powder. So 1 mg of extract comes from 30 mg of starting material.
450 mg of 30:1 extract × 30 = 13,500 mg. That is where the label figure comes from.
You are not swallowing 13,500 mg. You are swallowing 450 mg of a concentrate made from that quantity of dried plant material.
One consequence matters for safety. A concentrated extract is not the same thing as eating the fruit or drinking a leaf infusion — concentration changes the amount of every constituent, including the ones noted on the product label.
Soursop Capsules
- Extract
- Soursop (graviola) leaf extract, 30:1
- Per capsule
- 450 mg of extract, equivalent to 13,500 mg of soursop
- Serving
- One capsule
- Capsule shell
- Vegan capsule shell
- Other ingredients
- No synthetic fillers
- Allergens
- Free from common allergens
- Suitable for vegans
- Yes
- GMO status
- Non-GMO ingredients
- Count
- 60 capsules
- How long a bottle lasts
- Two months at one capsule daily
- Manufacture
- Made in a facility adhering to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)
Soursop Liquid Drops
- Extract
- Soursop (full spectrum), 30:1
- Per 2 ml serving
- 600 mg of extract, equivalent to 18,000 mg of soursop
- Other ingredients
- Vitamin C; green tea extract; vegetable glycerine and purified water base
- Alcohol
- Alcohol-free
- Suitable for vegans
- Plant-based
- GMO status
- Natural, non-GMO ingredients
- Bottle size
- 60 ml dropper bottle
- How long a bottle lasts
- One month at 2 ml daily (30 servings)
The two formats are not equivalent doses. Drops deliver 600 mg of extract per serving, capsules 450 mg, and the drops also carry green tea extract and vitamin C that the capsules do not. Take one format or the other, not both. Read the pack for the full, current ingredient list — the label on the product you receive is the authoritative version.
03 How to take it
Capsules
One capsule daily, preferably with a meal and a glass of water. Do not exceed the recommended amount.
Drops
Squeeze 2 ml into water, juice or coffee and stir well. Straight into the mouth works too. Use the graduated dropper supplied so the amount is the same each time. Do not exceed the recommended amount.
Timing
There is no established best time of day. Pick a time you will actually remember, and keep to it. Do not double up if you miss a day.
Storage
Cool, dry place, out of direct sunlight, both formats. Replace the dropper cap firmly after each use. Keep out of the sight and reach of children. Do not use after the best-before date on the pack.
04 Taste and format
Capsules bypass taste almost entirely. The shell is neutral and swallows easily with water. Open one and you meet the extract directly: a fine plant powder, dry and leafy on the nose, bitter and astringent on the tongue. Concentrated leaf extracts generally are. The capsule format exists precisely so you do not have to meet it.
Drops are taken by mouth, so taste is part of the deal. The base is vegetable glycerine and purified water — mildly sweet, slightly viscous, and it takes the edge off the extract. Green tea extract adds astringency. Taken straight the flavour is noticeable but brief; diluted in water, juice or coffee it recedes considerably, and a drink with some flavour of its own carries it better than plain water does.
Choosing between them is mostly practical. Capsules are fixed-dose and portable, with no measuring and no taste. Drops suit anyone who struggles with tablets, and they go into a drink you were having anyway. Note the difference in strength and additional ingredients set out above.
Our soursop products
Two formats of the same 30:1 soursop extract. Speak to your doctor or pharmacist before ordering if you take any medicine or are under medical care.
- Soursop Capsules — 450 mg of 30:1 soursop leaf extract per capsule, 60 vegan capsules, a two-month supply at one a day.
- Soursop Liquid Drops — 600 mg of 30:1 soursop extract per 2 ml serving, 60 ml alcohol-free dropper bottle, a one-month supply.
UK Standard delivery is £3.95, and free on orders of £30 or more. UK Express is £4.95, and free on orders of £48 or more. Orders are dispatched within 1–2 business days and delivery typically takes 1–4 business days, by Royal Mail or Amazon Logistics. You have 30 days from receipt to request a return; the item must be unopened, untampered, in its original packaging and accompanied by proof of purchase. Email hello@probotanics.co.uk to start a return — items sent back without requesting a return first are not accepted.
This is a food supplement, not a medicine. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition, and it is not a substitute for a varied diet and a healthy lifestyle. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking any medication or under medical care, speak to your doctor or pharmacist before use.