Natural plant ingredients continue to be introduced to
2023,08,24
In the "2021 China Sleep Economy Industry Research Report" shows that "difficult to fall asleep" and "insomnia" is the main problem plaguing the sleep of China's residents, accounting for 54.62% and 50.41%, respectively, the next are "Poor sleep quality and "easy to wake up". The severe sleep crisis has fueled the rapid growth of the sleep market, in which the food track has performed even brighter. Currently, sleep ingredients used in the sleep aid market can be categorized into three main types: Herbal extracts, amino acids, and some other categories of compounds. Botanical extracts - the "C-suite" of the market With the growing concern of consumers about the raw materials of products, natural, healthy Plant Extract has become the "popular C position" in the market. In recent years, such as chamomile, valerian root, jujube seed, asparagus extract and other Sleeping Aid Extract, stress relief ingredients widely appear in the sleep aid food, known to consumers. At the same time, more and more new ingredients and discoveries are emerging, bringing more innovative points to the products. Corn leaf extract, the ingredient is corn starch alcohol extracted from immature corn leaves. Relevant clinical studies have shown that it not only increases the duration of deep sleep, but also significantly reduces cortisol levels in the early morning. It is understood that the mechanism of action of corn leaf extract works mainly by promoting melatonin biosynthesis. However, unlike direct supplementation of melatonin products, corn leaf extract does not belong to the hormone component, so it will not interrupt the normal biosynthesis of the human body, which can avoid such as the production of dreams, dizziness, lethargy, the next day, poor mental health and other direct supplementation of melatonin brought about by the adverse effects. Saffron Extract is made by extracting the components in the stigma of saffron with pure water extraction technology. This extract is the first raw material in the world to add a core ingredient standardized by high performance liquid chromatography. The mechanism of action of the extract is to increase the transmission efficiency of inhibitory neurotransmitters, regulate the dynamic balance of neurotransmitters and neuronal activity, and at the same time, moderate the brain signal response, thus relieving stress, improving sleep disorders, and improving the quality of sleep. The natural polyphenol components of spearmint and green tea extracts are extracted using aqueous extraction technology. Clinical studies have shown that the ingredient can significantly improve sleep quality and next day status within 7-14 days. Lemon Verbena Extract helps reduce stress and can improve sleep quality. As for the mechanism of the sleep-aiding effect of lemon verbena extract, researchers believe that it is partly attributable to the potent polyphenol trichothecene in the extract, which produces a component similar to benzodiazepines (weak tranquilizers) and thus effectively improves the quality of sleep. Amino acids Powder, peptides - the "mainstay" of the market In addition to plant extracts, amino acids and peptides also occupy a large part of the market for sleep aids. Such as glycine, serine, L-tryptophan, arginine, ornithine, 5-hydroxytryptophan, etc. are familiar to the market, consumers.
GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid) GABA is a naturally occurring non-protein amino acid that is one of the more important inhibitors of nerve communication in the human body, affecting approximately 30% of the nerve centers. As a neurotransmitter that allows the brain nerves to relax and rest, GABA can inhibit the action of the nerve center, so it has a sleeping and sedative effect, while there is no drug dependence and side effects. In 2009, the former Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China approved γ-aminobutyric acid as a new resource food in accordance with the provisions of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China and the Measures for the Administration of New Resource Foods. L-Theanine (L-Theanine) L-Theanine was discovered in Japan in 1948 and is a non-protein free amino acid unique to tea. In Japan, researchers have conducted numerous experiments on the effects of L-theanine on sleep and mood. The results of these experiments have shown that L-theanine can positively affect key neurotransmitters related to stress, sleep, mood, concentration and memory. In addition L-Theanine helps the body form GABA, which acts as a stress reliever and improves sleep quality. In 2014, China's National Health and Planning Commission issued the Announcement on the Approval of Tea Theanine as a New Food Ingredient, etc., officially approving tea theanine as a new food ingredient. Casein Hydrolyzed Peptides In September 2021, Professor Zhao Mouming's team from the School of Food Science and Engineering at the South China University of Technology (SCUT) demonstrated that a milk peptide mixture of casein tryptic hydrolysate (CTH) can relieve stress and enhance sleep. At the same time, the study compared the sleep-enhancing effects of CTH with those of sleep peptides previously identified in CTH and explored new sleep-enhancing peptides. The results showed that the specific peptides in CTH significantly prolonged sleep. The discovery of this result signals a more diverse range of sleep-based food solutions in the future. It is reported that Prof. Zhao Mouming's team has already transformed the casein peptide into a product that can be used in functional foods to help people fall asleep and improve sleep quality. Melatonin, PEA - the "natives" on the market In addition to the two main categories of ingredients mentioned above, there are many other categories that are either in the spotlight or widely used in the sleep aid market. Melatonin, as the absolute mainstay of the current sleep aid market, is found in many sleep aid foods. Melatonin is essentially one of the hormones secreted by the pineal gland of the brain, and its secretion has a clear circadian rhythm, with suppressed secretion during the day and active secretion at night. However, as modern people's life is disrupted, melatonin secretion mechanism is also affected, even if the night falls, the human body's melatonin secretion is not seen to grow, which leads to insomnia in many people. For this reason, many people have started to take melatonin orally to improve their sleep. Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) a fatty substance, produced in the human body, but also found in animal offal, egg yolks, olive oil, safflower and soy lecithin, peanuts and other foods, for many years in Europe has been used as a food supplement, and after a large number of clinical studies to determine that it does not produce any adverse reactions, is a very safe component.
