Slippery Elm 400 mg | Red Elm | 100 capsules | NOW Foods

Slippery Elm 400 mg by NOW Foods

Are you looking for slippery elm in capsule form? This NOW Foods formula contains 400 mg of Ulmus rubra bark powder per vegetable capsule. This is the complete powdered plant material, not a standardized extract. One jar contains 100 capsules.

What slippery elm is

Slippery elm is the English name for the red elm, with the botanical name Ulmus rubra. It is a tree native to the forests of eastern North America. The part used is the inner bark: the soft layer just beneath the rough outer bark. The indigenous peoples of North America have used this inner bark for centuries, and slippery elm has since maintained a firm place in North American herbal tradition. The name slippery refers to what happens when the ground bark comes into contact with water: it becomes soft and gel-like in texture. The red elm gets its Dutch name from the reddish-brown color of its inner wood and bark. It is a medium-sized deciduous tree that grows wild in the forests of the eastern United States and Canada. For supplements, only the inner bark is used, the layer between the outer bark and the wood, which is richest in the characteristic substances.

Fibers and mucilage in the bark

That slippery property has a natural cause. The bark of the red elm naturally contains a lot of mucilage, a type of plant slime, along with plant fibers. Mucilage is a substance that retains water and therefore forms a soft, gel-like mass as soon as it becomes moist. This is exactly what makes slippery elm so recognizable and also explains its name. It is a property of the plant material itself, not an additive. Fibers and mucilage are both indigestible plant components; they belong to the natural structure of the bark and would be lost if the plant were processed into a highly concentrated extract. This is precisely why NOW Foods opts for the whole bark powder instead of an extract. Because the powder absorbs a lot of moisture, a generous amount of water is required when using it, which you will find on the label and in the frequently asked questions.

Bark powder instead of extract

NOW Foods uses the complete bark powder here, not a concentrated or standardized extract. So you get the ground inner bark as it is, with the naturally occurring fibers and mucilage intact. The composition is remarkably short: only slippery elm bark powder and a vegetable capsule of hypromellose. No additional fillers, no magnesium stearate, no colorants or preservatives have been added. This makes it one of the most basic herbal products in the range, suitable for those who consciously choose a simple, plant-based formula.

Who this slippery elm is suitable for

This slippery elm is for those who want to use this traditional herb on its own, as pure bark powder instead of an extract, and without additives. You get the inner bark of the red elm in a vegetable capsule, nothing else. In short: a basic, vegan herbal formula from a brand known for clear labels and a short, transparent ingredient list.