The plant extract industry takes up the agricultural planting industry and takes down the large health industry, playing an important role in the large health industry chain.
In the upper reaches of the river, our country is vast, spanning more than 60 degrees of longitude, with more than 40 degrees in dimensions. The geological landforms are diverse and the plant resources are abundant. There are more than 300 species of plants that can be used for plant extraction and have unique advantages. Downstream, China has a long history of the application of Chinese herbal medicine. At present, it has expanded the scope of application of plant extracts from traditional medicines, foods to pharmaceuticals, health care functional foods, food additives, cosmetics, feed additives, plant veterinary drugs, and plant pesticides. Among them, food and beverage accounted for the largest proportion of the consumption structure of the plant extract industry, more than 60 %.
When it comes to plant extracts, many people may associate them with health products. In fact, the application of plant extracts is far more extensive than imagined.
For example, stevia extract, its main component stevia glycoside has the characteristics of high sweetness, low calorific value, taste is close to sucrose, is the third natural sweetener after sucrose, sugar beet sugar. The Reb M, which is extracted from stevia, not only has a sugar-like taste, but also has zero calories, making it a new favorite in the market. Data show a 27 per cent increase in new products containing stevia in the first half of 2018 and growing demand from food and beverage companies. Our country is a big country producing and selling stevia extract.
Another example is Eucalyptus leaf oil, which is one of the commodities exported by plant extracts and plays an important role in industry. Eucalyptus oil can be used in the food industry, the Japanese chemical industry, and the pharmaceutical industry. It has the effect of corrosion, sterilization, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, and can be used to produce medical supplies. It can also be used as a deodorant for cough syrup, gum gum, gargle, toothpaste, and air freshener.
As an emerging market, plant extracts have a short development time and great potential at home and abroad. Not only the demand for nutritional supplements and health foods is increasing, but there are also great market potential in food and industry.