Application and Supervision of Plant Extracts in Food

Ⅰ. What are the common plant extracts?

The components of plant extracts can generally be divided into glycosides, acids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, terpenoids, flavonoids, alkaloids, etc., such as green tea extract, whose main component is tea polyphenols; ginseng extract, which mainly contains many Kinds of ginseng monomer saponins; according to different properties, it can be divided into extract, powder, lens, etc., such as violet leaf extract, citrus aurantium fructus extract and hangbai chrysanthemum extract.

At present, there are nearly one hundred types of plant extracts popular in the world, and the common ones are as follows:

1. Antioxidants (antioxidant plant extract): grape seed extract, green tea extract, pine bark extract, etc.;

2. Immunomodulators: Ginseng extract, Gynostemma pentaphyllum extract, Ganoderma lucidum extract, etc.;

3. Improve cardiovascular system functions: Ginkgo biloba extract, lotus seed heart extract, rhodiola extract, etc.;

4. Sedatives: Valerian extract, hop extract, etc.;

5. Natural pigments: lycopene, purple potato extract, etc.;

6. Functional sweeteners: licorice extract, stevia extract, etc.

Ⅱ. The application and supervision of plant extracts in food

At present, China has no unified regulations for the use of plant extracts as food materials, and some substances are regulated in different forms. As a plant extract company, Kindarco abides the regulations in the market and spares no efforts to promote the development of the industry.

1. According to GB2760, some plant extracts can be used as food additives. According to their functions, they can be divided into:

(1) Antioxidant

(2) Natural spices

(3) Coloring agent (natural pigment)

my country has approved more than 40 natural pigments to be included in the use standards, and only beet red, cranberry red, capsicum red, caramel color, dense yellow, red radish, black currant red, monascus yellow pigment, citrus yellow and other varieties. Its usage is not limited, and it can be added in an appropriate amount according to production needs. Most of the other varieties have maximum usage limits. Among them, the maximum use amount of lithospermum is 0.1g/kg, which is the same as the limit of synthetic pigments carmine and new red; the maximum use amount of curcumin is set at 0.01g/kg, which is 0.1g/kg of synthetic pigments sunset yellow and lemon yellow one tenth.

(4) Sweetener

The health food application question and answer of the Health Food Evaluation Center of the State Food and Drug Administration pointed out that companies can purchase plant extracts as raw materials for health food, but they should meet the corresponding requirements during the application process. Many extracts involved in health foods lack national standards. The new "Food Safety Law" puts forward a "health food raw material catalog" for the first time. After the establishment of this catalog, it will play a standard role in the extract market, and consumers will also have authority basis when purchasing products.