Under the continuous attention to natural health products, the plant extract industry is enjoying a high moment. According to Innova, between 2014 and 2018, the global growth rate of food and beverage products using plant-based ingredients was 8%. Latin America was the main growth market for this segment, growing at a CAGR of 24% during the period, followed by Australia at 10% and Asia at 9%.

Versatile and widely used

Plant extracts is plant as raw material, according to the use of extraction of the final product needs, through physical and chemical process of extraction and separation, directional obtain and concentration of one or more active ingredients in plants, without changing its effective composition structure and form of the product, can be used as raw materials, widely used in food, beverage, medicine, health care products, cosmetics and other downstream industry.

There are many kinds of plant extracts and their classification methods are also varied. 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 glucosides, acids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, terpenoids, 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, 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. Immune modulators: ginseng extract, gynostemma pentaphyllum extract, Ganoderma lucidum extract, etc. Improve cardiovascular function: ginkgo biloba extract, lotus seed heart extract, rhodiola extract, etc. Sedatives: valerian extract, hop extract, etc. Natural pigments: lycopene, purple potato extract, etc. Functional sweeteners: licorice extract, stevia extract, etc.

Plant extracts have various types and functions, which can be roughly divided into five categories: coloring, flavor output, pharmacological effects, health care functions and dietary supplement applications.

The components of plant extracts include glycosides, acids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, terpenoids, flavonoids, alkaloids and so on. Most of these ingredients have been proved to have biological activity in the research, which can not be ignored for human health. The development of its health care function has become the mainstream application trend of plant extracts.

Export markets are climbing

In recent years, the scale of plant extracts industry has witnessed rapid growth, especially in Europe and The United States and other developed countries and regions, the steady growth of the demand for plant extracts has stimulated the development of the industry. According to Markets and Markets analysis, the global plant extract market was valued at approximately us $23.7 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach US $59.4 billion by 2025, with a CAGR of 16.5%.

China is rich in plant resources, among which more than 300 kinds of plant extracts can be used. As the world's main exporters of plant extracts, plant extracts in China exports rising in recent years, with the increasing attention to the food and drug safety, large quantities of food security, have a certain function of nutrition of plant extracts have been used as raw materials, in various ways into functional food nutrition and health food into people's life. The strong market demand has driven the rapid development of the industry. At present, the share of plant extraction products in medicine and health food in China is expanding day by day, and the export volume is also increasing year by year. The gradual maturity of Chinese plant extract industry will undoubtedly be an important progress for the global plant extract industry.