The Development Of Plant Extracts Ushered In A Bright Moment

May 18, 2022

Plant extracts use plants as raw materials. According to the needs of the final product extracted, through the process of physical and chemical extraction and separation, one or more active ingredients in plants can be obtained and concentrated in a targeted manner without changing the structure of the active ingredients. The resulting products can be used as raw materials and are widely used in downstream industries such as food, beverage, medicine, health care products, and cosmetics.

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There are many types of plant extracts, and there are many ways to classify them. According to the content of its active ingredients, it can be divided into three categories: effective monomer extracts, standard extracts and ratio extracts; According to its product form, it can be divided into vegetable oil, extract, powder, lens, etc.; according to its use, it can be divided into natural pigment products, traditional Chinese medicine extract products, extract products and concentrated products.

At present, there are nearly 100 kinds of popular plant extracts in the world, including antioxidants: grape seed extract, green tea extract, pine bark extract, etc.; immunomodulators: ginseng extract, Gynostemma pentaphyllum extract, Ganoderma lucidum extract, etc.; Improve cardiovascular function: Ginkgo biloba extract, lotus seed heart extract, Rhodiola rosea extract, etc.; Sedatives: Valerian extract, hops extract, etc.; Natural pigments: lycopene, purple potato extract, etc.; Functional sweeteners: licorice extract, stevia extract, etc.

There are various kinds of plant extracts with diverse functions, which can be roughly divided into five categories: coloring, flavor output, pharmacological effects, health care functions, and application as dietary supplements.

Plant pigments are the main components of plant color, and some plants have abnormally rich pigments that can be used for pigment extraction. There are dozens of plant pigments available in my country, such as curcumin, safflower yellow, radish red, beet red, sorghum red, pepper red and so on.

Plant extracts are often rich in characteristic components that can effectively stimulate the senses, such as sweeteners and volatile substances. Natural sweeteners are a popular new type of sweetener. It not only has outstanding sweetness, but also is an ideal substitute for sucrose, with significant health effects, such as steviol glycosides, mogrosides, etc. Essential oils are concentrated volatile substances, which are often used in the preparation of fragrances, and are also the industry with the lowest application threshold in plant extracts, with small regulatory restrictions.

The use of Chinese herbal medicine has a long history, and in recent years, driven by the concept of traditional Chinese medicine, it has developed rapidly.

The components in plant extracts include glycosides, acids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, terpenes, flavonoids, alkaloids, etc. Most of these ingredients have been proved to be biologically active in research, and they have a non-negligible effect on human health. The development of their health-care functions has become the mainstream application trend of plant extracts.

In addition, most of the prebiotics used as food additives are derived from plants, such as inulin, fructooligosaccharides, glucomannans, soybean oligosaccharides, dietary fibers and gums.

In recent years, the scale of the plant extract industry has ushered in rapid growth, especially in developed countries and regions such as Europe and the United States, the demand for plant extracts has grown steadily, stimulating the development of the industry. According to Markets and Markets analysis, in 2019, the global plant extracts market was valued at approximately $23.7 billion and is expected to reach $59.4 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 16.5%.

my country is rich in plant resources, of which more than 300 species can be used for plant extracts. As the world's major exporter of plant extracts, my country's export value of plant extracts has been rising in recent years, hitting a record high of US$2.368 billion in 2018, a year-on-year increase of 17.79%. According to customs statistics, in 2019, the export value of my country's traditional Chinese medicine products was 40.2%, a year-on-year increase of 2.8%. Among them, the export value of plant extracts, which accounted for the largest proportion, was 2.37 billion US dollars in 2019, a year-on-year increase of only 0.2%; the export volume was 86,900 tons, a year-on-year increase of 5.68%; the export price was US$27.3/kg, a year-on-year decrease of 5.19%.

As the society pays more and more attention to food and drug safety, a large number of edible plant extracts with certain nutritional functions have been used as raw materials to make nutritional functional foods and health foods into people's lives in various ways. The strong market demand has driven the rapid development of the industry, but there are still many problems to be solved in the industry.

The first is the limitation of different national regulations. Different countries have different requirements for plant extracts and different product applications. For example, in North America, dietary supplements are the main products; in Europe, health products and plant medicines are the main products; in my country, traditional Chinese medicines and food additives are the main products. The quality standards of plant extracts are vague, and the difference in use directly affects the applicability of the types of raw materials. Only the categories that meet the requirements can enter the market, and there are many restrictions.

The second is the uneven distribution of industrial processing. Due to the limitations of technical conditions, crude extracts are the main products in my country, and the development of in-depth development is not ideal due to the limitations of technology and regulations, and it lacks competitiveness in the world.

The third is the imperfect supporting system. As an emerging industry in my country, a considerable part of plant extracts do not have corresponding production standards and specifications, lack effective supervision, and the product quality is uneven. There is still a long way to go on the road of industrial regulation.

Taking curcumin as an example, curcumin is a hot functional food raw material. It has developed rapidly in the North American market and has been used in many fields such as dietary supplements, beverages, and cosmetics. It is mainly used in food colorants in China. Although its functional food is also It has been listed, but the registration approval time is long, and the enterprise development cost is high. Recently, in the opinion draft of supplementing the list of health food accessories, it is proposed to list turmeric powder as health food accessories. Although the maximum usage amount is still set, it will promote the application of turmeric powder.

At present, the share of my country's plant extract products in medicine and health food is expanding, and the export volume is also increasing year by year. The gradual maturity of my country's plant extract industry will undoubtedly be an important progress for the global plant extract industry.