The development of plant extracts ushered in a highlight moment

In people's continued attention to natural health products, the plant extract industry is ushering in a highlight moment. According to Innova, between 2014 and 2018, the global use of plant-based ingredients in food and beverages grew by 8%. Latin America was the primary growth market for this segment, registering a CAGR of 24% during the period, followed by Australia and Asia at 10% and 9%, respectively.

Within the market category, sauces and condiments accounted for the largest market share, accounting for 20% of the global market share of new plant-based applications in 2018, followed by ready meals and side dishes 14%, snacks 11%, meat products and eggs 9%, and baked goods 9%. In addition, the sports nutrition segment has become one of the fastest growing market categories for plant ingredients. Driven by the growth of plant supplements, this segment had a CAGR of 25% in 2018, followed by the alcoholic beverage category at 22%.

Functions are diverse and widely used

Plant extracts are plants as raw materials, according to the needs of the use of the extracted final product, through the physical and chemical extraction and separation process, directed to obtain and concentrate one or more of the active ingredients in the plant, without changing the structure of its active ingredients and formed products, can be used as raw materials, widely used in food, beverage, medicine, health products, cosmetics and other downstream industries.

There are many kinds of plant extracts, and there are many ways to classify them. According to the content of active components, it can be divided into effective monomer extract, standard extract and ratio extract. According to its composition, it can be divided into glycosides, acids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, terpenes, flavonoids, alkaloids, etc. According to its product form 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 plant extracts popular in the world, including antioxidants: grape seed extract, green tea extract, pine bark extract, etc. Immunomodulators: ginseng extract, gynostaphyllus extract, ganoderma lucidum extract, etc.; Improve cardiovascular function: Ginkgo biloba leaf extract, lotus seed heart extract, rhodiola rosea extract, etc. Sedatives: valerian extract, hop extract, etc.; Natural pigments: lycopene, purple potato extract, etc.; Functional sweeteners: licorice extract, stevia extract, etc.

Plant extracts are diverse in variety and function, which can be broadly divided into five types: coloring, flavor output, pharmacological action, health function and application as dietary supplements.

Plant extracts are often rich in characteristic ingredients that can effectively stimulate the senses, such as sweeteners and volatile substances. Natural sweetener is a popular new type of sweetener at present. It is not only sweet, but also an ideal substitute for sucrose, and has significant health effects, such as stevia glycoside, momorrhoeae glycoside and so on. Essential oil is a concentrated volatile substance, which is often used in the preparation of spices, and is also the industry with the lowest application threshold of plant extracts, and small regulatory restrictions.

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

The components of plant extracts include glycosides, acids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, terpenes, flavonoids, alkaloids and so on. Most of these ingredients have been proved to have biological activity in the research, and have a non-negligible effect on human health. The development of their health function has become the mainstream application trend of plant extracts.

In addition, most prebiotics used as food additives are derived from plants, such as inulin, fructooligosaccharides, glucomannan, soy oligosaccharides, dietary fiber and gum.

Export markets are climbing

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

China is rich in plant resources, of which more than 300 kinds of plant extracts can be used. As the world's main exporter of plant extracts, China's export volume of plant extracts has been rising in recent years, hitting a record high of 2.368 billion US dollars in 2018, an increase of 17.79% year-on-year. According to customs statistics, in 2019, China's exports of traditional Chinese medicine products were 40.2, an increase of 2.8%, of which, the largest proportion of plant extracts exports in 2019 were 2.37 billion US dollars, an increase of only 0.2%; Exports were 86,900 tons, up 5.68% year-on-year; The export price was 27.3 USD/kg, down 5.19% year-on-year.

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

The first is the restrictions of different national regulations. Different countries have different requirements for plant extracts, and the application of products is different, such as dietary supplements in North America; In Europe, health products and plant medicines are the main; In China, traditional Chinese medicine and food additives are the main. The quality standards of plant extracts are vague, and the difference in use directly affects the applicability of raw material types, and only the categories that meet the requirements can enter the market with more restrictions.

The second is the uneven distribution of industrial processing. Due to the limitation of technical conditions, China is mainly based on crude extracts, and the in-depth development is not ideal due to the restriction of technology and regulations, and the lack of competitiveness in the international market.

Third, the supporting system is not perfect. As an emerging industry in China, a considerable part of plant extracts do not have corresponding production standards and norms, lack of effective supervision, product quality is uneven, and there is still a long way to go on the road to industrial norms.

Curcumin, for example, curcumin is a hot functional food raw materials, rapid development in the North American market, has been used in dietary supplements, beverages, cosmetics and other fields, and in the country is mainly used in food colorants, although the functional food has also been listed, but the registration and approval time is longer, the enterprise development cost is higher. Recently, in the opinion draft of adding the list of health food excipients, it is planned to list turmeric powder as health food excipients, although the maximum usage is still set, it has a promoting effect on the application of turmeric powder.

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

Shaanxi Cuikang Pharmaceutical Technology Co., LTD. 's main products are natural products, plant extracts, to provide more domestic and foreign customers with high-quality products!