In recent years, the concept of "plant extracts" has become increasingly common in the market. The concept of "plant extracts" has unintentionally entered people's lives. Whether in daily skincare products or dietary health supplements, they all emphasize the use of natural plant extraction methods to make people's pursuit of material things higher.
Functions and effects of plant extracts
(1) Antioxidant effect of plant extracts
Oxidative stress and the increase of oxidative products (mainly reactive oxygen and nitrogen free radicals) are related to the reduction of antioxidant defense capacity. It can occur through various biochemical reactions. This stress is controlled by free radicals, atoms, molecules, and ions, which are highly active due to their unpaired electrons and are prone to interact with other molecules. Substances that can delay, prevent, or inhibit oxidative damage of target molecules at low concentrations are defined as antioxidants.
(2) Anti-inflammatory effect of plant extracts
Inflammation is the first response of the body to infection, stimulation, or other injuries, and is considered a non-specific immune response, aiming to neutralize attacking factors, repair damaged tissues, and ensure the survival of the body. Its function is to combat invading organisms (microorganisms and non-self cells) and remove dead or damaged host cells. During the inflammatory response, the permeability of endothelial lining cells increases, blood white cells flow into the interstitium, oxidative bursts and cytokine release of interleukin and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) occur. At the same time, inflammation also induces the activity of several enzymes (oxydases, nitric oxide synthases, peroxidases) and arachidonic acid metabolism. During the inflammatory process, there is also the expression of cell adhesion molecules, such as intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM) and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM).
(3) Antibacterial effect of plant extracts
Plant extracts play an important role in mediating the interaction between plants and the environment. Among the plant-generated plant-derived compounds as secondary metabolites, plant essential oils containing various phenolic and terpene substances are the most studied compounds. Their characteristic feature lies in their strong odor. The fundamental reason is that essential oils mainly target the cell membranes of food-originating and other pathogenic bacteria, causing their membrane integrity to be lost and permeability to increase.
(4) Plant extracts and digestive metabolism and intestinal function
It is known that various plant extracts (including herbal plants and their extracts) are beneficial to the digestive tract (such as laxatives and antispasmodic effects). In addition, they can prevent flatulence in the stomach and intestines. Moreover, numerous studies have shown that plant-based feed additives stimulate the secretion of digestive enzymes in poultry intestines and enhance the activity of digestive enzymes, thereby improving the digestive function of the poultry intestines.
Application fields of plant extracts
- Coloring agents: Plant pigments are the main components of plants that present color. Some plants have extremely rich pigment content, which can be extracted for pigment extraction. There are dozens of plant pigments available in China, such as curcumin, safflower yellow, radish red, beet red, sorghum red, and chili red.
- Sweeteners: Plant extracts often contain rich characteristic components that can effectively stimulate the senses, such as sweeteners and volatile substances. Natural sweeteners are currently popular new sweeteners, which not only have a prominent sweet taste but are also ideal substitutes for sucrose, with significant health effects. For example, steviol glycosides, rooibos sweeteners, etc. Essential oils are concentrated volatile substances, which are often used in the preparation of spices and are the industry with the lowest application threshold and the least regulatory restrictions.
- Pharmaceutical raw materials: The use of Chinese herbal preparations has a long history and is more prosperous in Asian regions. In recent years, with the promotion of the concept of traditional Chinese medicine, it has gained worldwide fame. Health supplements: The components in plant extracts include glycosides, acids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, terpenoids, flavonoids, alkaloids, etc. These components have been widely proven to have biological activity in research and have significant effects on human health that cannot be ignored. The development of their health care functions has become the mainstream application trend of plant extracts.
- Dietary supplements: Prebiotics refer to some organic substances that are not digested or absorbed by the host but can selectively promote the growth and reproduction of beneficial bacteria such as bifidobacteria in the host's body, thereby improving the host's health. The structural characteristics of prebiotics are: they cannot be hydrolyzed or digested and absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract; they can selectively stimulate the growth and reproduction of beneficial bacteria in the intestine and activate their metabolic functions; they cause the intestinal flora to transform in a direction beneficial to the host's health; they can induce local or systemic immune responses beneficial to the host's health.
