What raw materials are used in liver protection products at home and abroad?

The liver protection market is growing rapidly, and the demand for liver protection is becoming younger and more feminine

In recent years, lifestyle changes have led to an increase in fast food and alcohol consumption, and the prevalence of liver diseases such as liver cancer, fatty liver, severe cirrhosis, and obesity in the global population has also increased year by year.According to GLOBOCAN data, there will be about 905,677 cases (4.7 %) new liver cancer cases, 830,180 (8.3%) deaths from liver cancer, nearly 4.5 million adults in the U.S. were diagnosed with liver disease in 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

What raw materials are used in liver protection products at home and abroad?

There are certain differences in the selection of raw materials for liver protection products at home and abroad.In my country, the mainstream liver-protecting raw materials include kudzu root, ganoderma lucidum, schisandra, wolfberry, etc.; in Japan, the mainstream liver-protecting raw materials are sulforaphane glucosinolate and curcumin; in the United States, the mainstream liver-protecting raw materials mainly include milk thistle, Liver Extract, Ayurvedic Herbs-Other, N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) and Dandelion, etc.

1) China

Searching the special food information query platform for registered health food that promotes "an auxiliary protective function against chemical liver damage" found that as of April 23, there were a total of 594 registered health foods. Among them, the top 5 raw materials used are kudzu root, ganoderma lucidum, schisandra, wolfberry and Hovenia dulcis.Among these 34 kinds of raw materials, except Ganoderma lucidum, Schisandra chinensis and other health food raw materials, the others are basically the same raw materials of medicine and food.

2) Japan

Among the functional foods declared in Japan in 2022 and the first quarter of this year, the functional foods that claim to have liver protection function mainly use two kinds of raw materials, one is sulforaphane glucosinolate, and the other is turmeric white.

Sulforaphane Glucosinolate (SGS)

Sulforaphane glucosinolate exists in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables.A Japanese study found that continuous intake of sulforaphane glucosinolate in middle-aged and elderly people can reduce liver damage caused by oxidative stress and help Improve blood alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels.

Curcumin

Curcumin can modulate antioxidant capacity, alcohol metabolizing enzyme activity (i.e. CYP2E1 inhibition) and lipid metabolism (i.e. increase activated protein kinase (AMPK) expression) after chronic alcohol intake-induced liver injury. A mouse experiment found that curcuma longa Infection protects the liver from chronic ethanol-induced damage, attenuates hepatic histopathological changes and lipid accumulation, and modifies the levels of common biomarkers.

3) United States

SPINS analyzed 2018 (52 weeks ending December 30, 2018) sales at U.S.natural foods, specialty foods, and traditional multichannel retailers and found that within the liver support category, the top 10 ingredient categories by sales were:Milk Thistle, Ayurvedic Herbs - Other, N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC), Dandelion, Inositol, Artichoke,Turmeric, Mushroom Chaga and Digestive Enzymes Other.Among them, the sales volume of milk thistle was significantly ahead, reaching US$22,747,756.57 million, an increase of 2.1% compared to 2017.