Plant extracts are products that use plants as raw materials and undergo a physical and chemical extraction and separation process to directionally obtain and concentrate one or more active ingredients in the plants without changing the structure of the active ingredients. The plant extract industry is an emerging industry that has only developed in the past 20 years. It is widely used in food, medicine, cosmetics, agriculture and other fields. Although it has not been around for a long time, it has developed rapidly. The development and application of plant extracts has become a It is an important strategic measure for enterprises to improve their competitiveness.
My country's chinese herbal medicine resources are very rich, with no less than 10,000 types available, of which more than 1,000-1,200 are commonly used, of which plant-based herbs account for about 90%. The extraction and utilization of plant ingredients has a long history, but there are an independent industry did not form. It was not until the 1970s that some domestic pharmaceutical companies extracted traditional chinese medicine through machinery, but it was still only a part of the pharmaceutical industry. Plant extract is a term that includes modern processing technology. It first emerged in europe and the united states in the 1980s. Due to the improvement of industrialization and the deeper utilization of resources, plant extracts have gradually become favored by the market for their natural and healthy attributes. Due to technical limitations, we started late in the field of plant extracts, but we have developed rapidly. The export value of plant extracts of traditional chinese medicine alone accounts for more than 40% of the total exports of traditional chinese medicine. The industry is also developing towards high quality and is moving from exports of single raw materials are gradually shifting to diversified applications.
Concepts such as green consumption and returning to nature have become consumer fashions. The natural properties of plant extracts meet the needs of consumers and are conducive to building a sustainable ecological market. Plant extracts are the middle link in the entire industrial chain. The upstream is connected to agricultural planting, and the downstream is responsible for product development and application. Its product line has high variability, clear levels of cost and technical investment, and is suitable for enterprises at different stages of production. Its industries The added value is also high.
There are various types of plant extracts, and their functions are also diverse. An extract often has different effects, but it can be roughly divided into four categories: coloring, flavor output, pharmacological effects, and health care functions.
Plant pigment is the main component of plant color, and some plants are extremely rich in pigment content, which can be used for pigment extraction. There are dozens of plant pigments available in my country, such as curcumin, safflower yellow, radish red, and beet red, Lycopene, pepper red, etc.
Plant extracts are often rich in characteristic ingredients that can effectively stimulate the senses, such as sweeteners and volatile substances. Natural sweeteners are currently popular new sweeteners. They not only have outstanding sweetness, but are also ideal substitutes for sucrose and have significant health effects. Such as steviol glycoside, erythritol, glycyrrhizin and so on. Essential oils are concentrated volatile substances that are often used in the preparation of spices. They are also the industry with the lowest application threshold among plant extracts and the least regulatory restrictions.
The use of Chinese herbal medicine preparations has a long history and is relatively prosperous in Asia. In recent years, driven by the concept of traditional Chinese medicine, it has become world-renowned.
The ingredients in plant extracts include glycosides, acids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, terpenes, flavonoids, alkaloids, etc. Most of these ingredients have been confirmed to have biological activity in research and have a non-negligible effect on human health. The development of its health-care functions has become a mainstream application trend of plant extracts.
Strong market demand has driven the rapid development of the industry, but there are still many problems that need to be solved.
The first is the restriction of laws and regulations. Different countries have different requirements for plant extracts, and the product applications are different. For example, North America mainly focuses on dietary supplements; Europe mainly focuses on health products and herbal medicines; my country focuses on traditional Chinese medicine and food additives Mainly. The difference in usage directly affects the applicability of raw material types. Only 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 limitation of technical conditions, my country mainly uses crude extracts, while the in-depth development is limited by technology and regulations, the development is not ideal, and it lacks international competitiveness.
The third is that the supporting system is not perfect. Plant extracts are an emerging industry in my country. Most of them have no corresponding production standards and norms. The supervision lacks effective implementation. The product quality is uneven. Long way to go.
Take curcumin as an example: Curcumin is a hot functional food raw material, especially in the North American market. Curcumin has covered many fields such as dietary supplements, beverages, cosmetics, etc., and it is mainly used in food coloring agents in China. Its function Although food products are already on the market, registration and approval times take a long time and enterprise development costs are high. Recently, in the opinion draft for supplementing the list of health food excipients, turmeric powder is proposed to be listed as a health food excipient. Although the maximum usage is still set, it will greatly promote the application of turmeric powder.
It is true that there are still many limitations in the plant extract industry, but it is undeniable that plant extracts are an unstoppable "star of tomorrow".
