What exactly are plant extracts? Are they additives or foods?

In the new coronavirus ravaged Europe and the United States now, foreign consumers are crazy to buy botanicals to ward off influenza.

Plant extracts are substances derived from plants (e.g., herbs, spices, essential oils, etc.) that are extracted or processed using appropriate solvents or methods (e.g., concentration, distillation, extraction, separation, drying).

01 How are plant extracts categorized?
According to the different traits, they can be divided into plant oils, extracts, powders, crystals, etc.; according to the function, they can be divided into growth promoters, immunomodulators, antioxidants, flavoring agents, deodorants, mildew inhibitors, product quality improvers, etc. According to the different components of extracts, they are divided into alkaloids, flavonoids, polysaccharides, glycosides, volatile oils, organic acids and other compounds.

02 Main components of plant extracts
(1) Alkaloids, i.e. plant alkaloids, are important active ingredients in herbal medicine, common ones are e.g. small cleavers in Rhizoma Coptidis.

(2) Flavonoids have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and other biological activities, common flavonoids such as propolis, soy isoflavones, anthocyanins, tea polyphenols.

(3) Polysaccharides have the effect of lowering serum cholesterol, anticancer and anti-cancer, and regulating immunity, such as Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides, shiitake mushroom polysaccharides, and algal polysaccharides.

(4) Glycosides are substances made by combining sugar with phenols and flavonoids. Different types of glycosides have different physiological activities and have various functions.

03 Are plant extracts food additives or food?

At present, there is no uniform regulation on the use of plant extracts as food ingredients in China, and some substances are regulated in different forms.

According to GB2760 Rules for the Use of Food Additives, some plant extracts can be used as food additives, which can be mainly categorized according to their functions:

(1) Antioxidants: rosemary extract, tea polyphenols, licorice antioxidants, etc;

(2) Natural flavors: clove bud tincture, bay leaf extract, ginger extract, licorice extract, aloe vera extract, etc;

(3) Colorants: beet red, caramel color, curcumin, paprika, citrus yellow, etc;

(4) Sweeteners: somatosweet, stevioside, rosmarin, etc.