Plant Extracts in The World Food Ingredients Market
With the increase of health consciousness, when consumers choose health products, the attributes and social effects of the products, natural and sustainable, etc. gradually become important factors influencing the choice. Among the resources currently available to mankind, plants have a unique advantage, which not only caters to consumers' personal choice, but also meets the trend of sustainable development in society. With the dual demand, the upstream and downstream industries of plant development have entered a period of rapid development.
Plant extract is a plant-based product formed by obtaining or concentrating one or more active ingredients in plants through physical, chemical and other treatments in a targeted manner, without changing its composition and function. Its greatest advantage lies in the enrichment of active ingredients, and it is an important intermediate in modern industry, which can be widely used in the fields of food, medicine, health food, cosmetics and so on. The use of plant extracts varies greatly from country to country, and accordingly, different application modes have emerged.

China is a big country for plant raw materials, and its plant extract exports reached $2.36 billion in 2018, up 17.8% year-on-year, with the growth rate even exceeding the highest growth rate in previous years. This is mainly due to the growth of food applications, with stevia extract, eucalyptus oil, menthol, licorice extract, marigold extract, and lingonberry extract being among the more popular categories. Chinese medicine is a treasure of China, and plant extracts are more widely used under the modern concept of traditional Chinese medicine, but less so in the food sector.In January 2020, the Notice on the Pilot Work of Carrying Out the Management of Substances that are Both Food and Chinese Herbal Medicine According to Tradition on 9 Substances Including Codonopsis Pilot, which was jointly issued by the National Health Commission and the General Administration of Market Supervision and Administration, clearly stated that, in the pilot area, Codonopsis Pilosula, Cistanchia (Desert) dendrobium, ganoderma lucidum, asparagus, eucommia leaf, cornelian cherry, astragalus and American ginseng, when they are used as food and medicinal substances, their labels, manuals, advertisements and publicity information shall not contain false contents and shall not be related to the disease prevention and treatment functions. It is worth mentioning that the above nine substances are all traditional Chinese medicinal materials recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, and at present, 15 provinces have carried out pilot management work.
Unlike the Chinese market, the world market for plant extracts is relatively rich in products, food, medicine, cosmetics and other fields have developed significantly. From the perspective of the global market, nutritional health food has become the largest demand for plant extracts, accounting for more than 50%. In terms of nutritional health care products, the North American region is the main consumption area of plant extracts, widely publicized turmeric and so on are originated from the North American market. Goji berry also has a good performance in North America, and its main function is for weight management.
Taken together, the global market for plant extracts is also quite promising. Accompanied by the ongoing institutional and regulatory reforms, China will form a development pattern that focuses on production, research and development, and application, as well as a double cycle of domestic and international development that promotes each other.