The plant extract industry undertakes the agricultural planting industry upward and the big health industry downward, playing an important role in the big health industry chain.
Upstream, China has a vast territory, spanning more than 60 degrees of longitude and more than 40 degrees of dimension. It has diverse geological and geomorphological features and rich plant resources. There are more than 300 kinds of plants that can be used for plant extraction, with unique advantages. Downstream, China has a long history of application of Chinese herbal medicine, has the plant extract application range from the traditional medicines, food, expand to medicine, health functional foods, food additives, cosmetics, feed additives, plant source of veterinary drugs, botanical pesticides, and other fields, among them, the food and beverage in the plant extracts industry than most of the consumption structure, it is more than 60%.
When it comes to plant extracts, many people may think of health supplements. In fact, plant extracts are far more widely used than previously thought.
For example, stevia extract, the main component of which is stevia glycosides, is characterized by high sweetness and low calorific value. Its taste is close to that of sucrose, and it is the third natural sweetener after sucrose and beet sugar. Reb M, an ingredient extracted from stevia, not only has a sugar-like taste, but also has zero calories, making it a new favorite in the market. New stevia products launched globally increased by 27% in the first half of 2018, according to data, amid growing demand from food and beverage companies. China is a major producer and marketer of stevia extract.
Another example is eucalyptus oil, which plays an important role in industry as one of the export commodities of plant extract. Eucalyptus oil can be used in food industry, daily chemical industry and pharmaceutical industry, with anti-corrosion, sterilization, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, and can be used in the production of medical supplies. It can also be used as an aromatizer for cough syrup, gummy sugar, gargle, toothpaste, air purifier, etc.
As an emerging market, plant extract has a short development time at home and abroad and has great potential. It not only has increasing demand in nutritional supplements and health food, but also has great market potential to be explored in food and industry.