The main difference between spray-dry and freeze-dry chaga extract.

By Victor Smirnov

Essential conditions for the production of high-quality Chaga extract.

Today, in many countries, Chaga mushroom extract is considered an effective means for preventing various health problems. Since the 1950s, the Chaga mushroom extract has been officially approved in Russia to prevent and treat cancer.

However, very few people are aware that not every Chaga extract is equally beneficial for human health. I have decided to write this article to enlighten Chaga users about how the definition of 'high-quality Chaga extract' should really be understood.

Our company has been receiving many questions about how to distinguish good Chaga extract from the bad one. Well, I’ll try to explain it as simply as possible.

People tend to believe that all manufacturers try to do their best to make a really high-quality product. Maybe most of them sincerely try to do their best, but they simply cannot. And just trying is not enough. In fact, very few producers can achieve a really high-quality stage of the end product. Why? The manufacturing premium quality Chaga extract requires profound scientific knowledge, professional skills, and appropriate experience and depends on some other factors. And the majority of manufacturers have difficulty dealing with them.

Those factors and requirements include the following:

1. The source of high-quality organic Chaga mushroom.
2. Appropriate extraction method and performance.
3. Appropriate dehydration method and performance.
4. Possession of advanced technology and suitable equipment.
5. Time-proved experience and specialized skills in the field of Chaga extract manufacturing.

Raw materials. Only wild-grown, hand-picked Chaga mushroom

To produce premium Chaga extract, manufacturers must use the raw materials of the best quality. “The best quality” means ecological cleanness and appropriate chemical composition of a raw Chaga mushroom collected in wild nature. And this strongly depends on the geographical location where the Chaga has been collected from.

We have been engaged in the Chaga related business for more than 20 years. This is why we believe that the most valuable Chaga grows in Siberian taiga forests. Thanks to the high content of the chromogenic complex, melanins, and polysaccharides, Siberian Chaga outruns Chaga mushroom collected from Russia's other regions and probably from all other countries.

It is a well-known fact that some countries cultivate Chaga mushroom artificially. For several reasons, "the creature" cannot be called “real Chaga.” The paramount reason is that artificially grown Chaga does not possess any of the most valuable substances, such as humic-like Chaga acids (chromogenic complex), found only in wild Chaga mushrooms.

Thus, beware of  Chaga mushroom grown on a farm. There is no point in wasting money on a useless product.

Appropriate extraction method

When we talk about Chaga extract, we call the extraction method “appropriate” based on the water and not on alcohol. The water extraction method serves to withdraw as much of the key water-soluble substances from Chaga as possible. The primary substance that gives Chaga its healing power is the chromogens' complex (melanins, Chaga humic acids). This chromogenic complex is the principal feature of wild Chaga mushrooms and is the most valuable one.

Many highlight the importance of the number of polysaccharides in Chaga. This should not be sought after because polysaccharides can be found in other foods too. The same relates to B-glucans as they can be found in non-Chaga products as well. But Chaga acids and melanins are only available in natural Chaga mushroom.

By the way, the chemical structure of Chaga melanin resembles that of human melanin. This melanin (aka chromogenic complex) can only be dissolved in water, which implies that it can only be withdrawn from Chaga with water. Besides, the water should be hot but not too hot. The temperature should be carefully observed and must not exceed 60 degrees Celsius.

 Appropriate dehydration method

This subject is probably the most talked-about among chaga consumers.

“Is this a real FD extract?”.

”How to distinguish Freeze-dried from Spray-dried Chaga extract?”

The above questions have been frequently asked by the people interested in finding an effective Chaga mushroom extract.

 Most Chaga manufacturers and the majority of merchants have been reluctant to answer these questions. Not necessarily because they are trying to cheat or something, but mostly because they do not have the capability to produce a premium quality Freeze-dried Chaga extract.

Dehydration of Chaga extract

The Chaga extract manufacturing process comprises seven basic stages:

1. Preparation of raw material.
2. Crushing the original lump of Chaga mushroom into smaller chunks.
3. Extraction in evaporation and vacuum units.
4. Separation of the half-liquid chaga mass.
5. Dehydration.
6. Crushing the dried extract to a fine powder.
7. Packaging and storage

The dehydration process is necessary to transform the half-liquid dense mass of Chaga extract, which had been obtained by stage #4, into dry powder. In other words, we want to remove water from the dense mass.

There are three widespread methods of dehydration used in Chaga extract manufacturing:

1. Spray-dry method. The extract powder gets sprayed in a centrifugal machine by compressed hot air.
2. Infrared drying. The drying occurs in the IR ovens.
3. Freeze-dried method. The extract powder gets sublimated.

The Chaga mushroom molecules undergo a strong thermal impact having been processed with a Spray-dry or IR method. Inevitably, this would affect Chaga's chemical composition, which will result in its diminished healing power.

As you may know, the temperature for processing Chaga should not exceed 60 degrees celsius. Right?  

Now, I will reveal the secret being kept from you by manufacturers: the SD dehydration process involves hot air with temperatures that exceed 150 degrees Celcius! How about that?

And did you know that 90% of all Chaga extract manufacturers mostly use the SD or IR dehydration methods?

Why are they doing that? The answer is simple. These methods allow them to obtain a less expensive and cost-effective product despite worsening of its quality.

Then why do they claim that their Chaga extract still contains a lot of polysaccharides and chromogenic complex? Are they lying?

You will know by the end of this article. But before that, I would like you to learn some basics about the sublimation process, or so-called “freeze-drying.”

 Sublimation (freeze-dry) dehydration.

The principle of sublimation is illustrated in this flowchart. It is very different from the thermal method of dehydration.

Sublimation (lyophilization) removes a solvent from the frozen solution, gels, suspensions, and biological objects.

Simply put, sublimation is a process where the consolidated solvent (ice) bypasses the liquid phase.
The word "lyophilization," translated from the Greek language, means "dissolve with love." In other words,  Chaga extract dehydrated in sublimation dryer units is a product made by the soft method, i.e., "made with love".

Now let us explain why the sublimation dryer is better in both scientific and practical sense.

Dehydration of Chaga extract with sublimation method allows preserving the maximum quantity of key chaga substances without causing any damage to molecules of chaga in the process. Such Chaga extract has a pleasant flavor and pronounced taste. The freeze-drying process retains the structural integrity of the Chaga mushroom and its biological activity. Moreover, Chaga extract made with sublimation stays fresh longer.

Why do most manufacturers not employ the Freeze-dried method?

Because the Freeze-drying process is more complicated, labor-intensive, and much expensive compared to the other methods.

• It requires thorough preliminary preparation of liquid Chaga extract before launching the dehydration process. Before that, it is vital to remove all the non-soluble admixtures and ballast substances from Chaga.
• It requires special equipment for the creation of a high-quality vacuum.
• It takes a long time to complete the process.
• It demands high power consumption.

Thanks to the meticulous removal of non-soluble admixtures and ballast from the half-liquid form of Chaga extract, the finished Chaga extract powder acquires its highly water-soluble properties. On the other hand, SD Chaga extract doesn’t dissolve quickly. It keeps floating on the water surface for a long time until thoroughly stirred.

Moreover, creating high vacuum conditions is crucial for Chaga extract's production with the required level of moisture. The freeze-dried extract cannot be overdried, whereas the spray-dried can.

On the contrary, IR and spray-dry methods cannot facilitate accurate moisture control. As a result, it often happens that the finished product is overheated and overdried ("overdone"), thereby increasing the ash content, giving an unpleasant smell, and even more destroying the useful substances of Chaga.

 Color of Chaga extract.

It is often believed that the dark brown or black color of Chaga extract guarantees its high quality. It makes sense, but it is not always true, though.

The Chaga extract may acquire a dark-brown or black color in two cases:

- When the extract has been freeze-dried. In this case, the black color is an indicator of the high content of melanin.

- When the extract has been made by the spray-dry method. In this case, the dark brown or black color of the powder tells about overheating.

Take a look at this picture. You can see two types of Chaga extract powders. One is brown, and the other is black. Both were produced with a Spray-dried dehydration process! However, one of them was adequately dried, while the other was overheated. You can see it from its darker color.

Now compare it with the FD Chaga extract depicted below. It is also black but has these small crystal-like shiny particles. This is the main distinguishing feature of FD Chaga extract. It is black because it possesses tons of melanin. Not because of overheating. By sublimation drying, it is impossible to overheat anything because there is no heat involved.

Conclusion:

The Chaga extract manufactured with the sublimation method preserves its organoleptic and chemical properties, is instantly soluble in water, is lightweight, and has prolonged shelf life. In fact, given adequate storage conditions, freeze-dried Chaga extract can stay fresh for 3 years and longer. Such Chaga extract retains all vitamins, proteins, Chaga acids, and nutrients and can be recommended for health improvement.

Final note.

Do you know why we do not offer SD Chaga extract on this website?  Because we don’t want to deprive people of their expectations. We know that for some folks, our Chaga is their last chance.

It is a well-known fact that plant-based raw food is being digested by the human body much quicker than processed food. 'Digested' means that all nutrients, vitamins, ferments, and other beneficial substances have been absorbed and used by your body, providing you with all the benefits.  It is happening because the molecules of raw food fit into your body’s multidimensional molecular lattice perfectly, whereas processed food molecules don’t fit into it at all. So, instead of getting energy from consumed food, our body has to waste a lot of its own power to process and utilize these “alien” molecules.

To summarize, you should understand a straightforward but important thing. When it comes to Chaga extract, the QUANTITY (rendered by numbers) of any substance is not important. What is more important is the QUALITY– the content of “live” substances in Chaga extract.

I repeat: Under the impact of hot air, the Chaga molecular crystal cell structure gets changed. They remain molecules of Chaga, but at the same time, they become different, not 'alive' anymore, and your body cannot fully utilize the beneficial substances. As a result, you are not getting the full benefits from the Chaga extract you paid for.