With the new generation of young people paying more and more attention to their own health and beauty, the oral beauty market is booming. In January last year, sodium hyaluronate was approved by the National Health Commission as a new food raw material, which redefined the domestic oral beauty market pattern. As a booming new thing, sodium hyaluronate continues to receive widespread attention from all walks of life.

The oral sodium hyaluronate market is in its infancy

        The oral sodium hyaluronate market is in its infancy. Young people who love beauty are familiar with sodium hyaluronate. Sodium hyaluronate is a natural straight chain 

polysaccharide found in human and animal tissues. It is widely used in medical treatment, medical aesthetics and various cosmetics. For the Chinese market, oral sodium 

hyaluronate may still be a new thing.

        Since sodium hyaluronate was officially approved by the state last year, major brands have seized this market and began to layout the sodium hyaluronate food field. 

Zhaoyan, chairman of Huaxi biology, said that sodium hyaluronate has been developing in the food industry for many years in the European, American, Japanese and 

Korean markets, while China has just started. Huaxi biology cooperates with food enterprises to jointly develop sodium hyaluronate food that matches the diversified 

mainstream consumer demand, providing more possibilities for the development of functional food. For example, the new milk products jointly launched by Huaxi biology 

and Guangming dairy, Wahaha sodium hyaluronate bubble water and other products, the raw materials of sodium hyaluronate are all from Huaxi biology.

        For the consumer side, consumers have a full understanding of beauty ingredients such as sodium hyaluronate, and oral beauty is the focus of the new generation of young

consumers. Relevant data show that 65% of female consumers believe that adding specific ingredients to food and beverages can achieve the purpose of improving their 

health through dietary supplements.

        Insiders said that only one year after the sodium hyaluronate intake policy was approved, both the various innovative products on the production side and the acceptance on

the consumer side are developing rapidly.

Theoretical progress supports more dimensional R & D and promotion of products

        Riding the east wind of consumption upgrading, functional foods with health attributes are quietly popular among young people. According to the data of China Commercial

Industry Research Institute, the market scale of functional food will exceed 600billion yuan in 2022. The approval of sodium hyaluronate as a new food raw material by the 

state marks that domestic sodium hyaluronate food has finally entered China's functional food market. All relevant academic achievements of sodium hyaluronate will inject 

another "booster" into the development of domestic sodium hyaluronate food

        Studies on oral sodium hyaluronate have been ongoing.

        In 2021, nature portfolio published from mechanism research to experimental analysis: oral hyaluronic acid improves skin moisture It is proved that sodium hyaluronate can be 

absorbed by the body through oral administration. Citing the research results of "ingested hyaluronan moisturizes dry skin" published by the research department of Chubi Co., Ltd. 

and the team of Toho University in 2014, the article points out that eating sodium hyaluronate can help improve dry skin and reduce wrinkles.

Chen Jian, an academician of the Chinese Academy of engineering, said that daily oral supplement of 120-200 mg of sodium hyaluronate can play a role in protecting 

gastrointestinal health, protecting eyes, alleviating osteoarthritis and improving skin efficacy.

        This year, the joint research achievement of Tsinghua University, research progress on the physiological function and action mechanism of oral hyaluronic acid, was published in

food science. The paper confirmed that oral sodium hyaluronate has corresponding protective effects on skin, joints, intestinal health and eyes respectively. At the same time, 

compared with injection, oral sodium hyaluronate is more economical and convenient, and has a broader application prospect and development potential. The paper emphasizes 

that with the growth of age, the level of sodium hyaluronate in the body gradually decreases. Oral sodium hyaluronate is expected to supplement the body's sodium hyaluronate, 

so as to regulate the body's related functions and promote and maintain the body's health.

        The paper points out that sodium hyaluronate can not only be absorbed by the body and transferred to the skin, but also help to increase the synthesis of its own sodium 

hyaluronate and promote the proliferation of skin fibroblasts. Oral sodium hyaluronate can increase the moisture content of skin after UV irradiation and slow down the formation 

of wrinkles and the rate of skin aging. The effects of sodium hyaluronate on maintaining moisture, elasticity, shaping and beauty, and maintaining its defense function have 

been widely verified and recognized. Oral sodium hyaluronate is undoubtedly more economical, convenient, and more compliant

        The paper also confirmed that oral sodium hyaluronate plays a positive role in human intestinal function. After the oral sodium hyaluronate is degraded by enzymes in the 

intestinal tract, it is absorbed in the intestinal tract in the form of monosaccharide or non monosaccharide with small molecular weight. Under the action of synthetic enzymes 

in the body, it is re synthesized into macromolecular sodium hyaluronate and promotes the generation of endogenous sodium hyaluronate in the human bod

Many experiments show that oral sodium hyaluronate can be absorbed and utilized by human body. The joint research of Tsinghua University has once again proved the 

efficacy of oral sodium hyaluronate, improved people's correct understanding of oral sodium hyaluronate, and made consumers more confident to enjoy the benefits of oral 

sodium hyaluronate

        Insiders believe that after the approval of the National Health Commission, sodium hyaluronate has achieved a great leap from "external use" to "internal use". After years of 

exploration and testing and the certification of national authoritative journals, the safety and positive effect of sodium hyaluronate on human body have been verified. The 

great progress in theory will continue to guide the R & D and promotion of more dimensions of products, and a new era of sodium hyaluronate food localization has com

Broad domestic application market

        The domestic application market is broad. With the development and promotion of production enterprises, the rise of "beauty economy" and "other economy", with the 

approval of the state and the endorsement of the authority, the functional food added with sodium hyaluronate will be popular, and is expected to become the next new 

growth engine of the food and beverage industry

        According to the 2020 Research Report on the global and Chinese hyaluronic acid (HA) industry market, it is estimated that the global food grade hyaluronic acid end 

product market will reach 500million US dollars (about 3.18 billion yuan) in 2025. It is expected that the annual average compound growth rate will reach 4.9% from 2020 to

 2025. It can be predicted that sodium hyaluronate food and beverage in China will usher in significant growth

        After sodium hyaluronate is eaten, China's functional food industry has ushered in a new period of development opportunities. The application scope of sodium hyaluronate 

has been expanded to milk and dairy products, beverages, alcohol, cocoa products, etc., providing compliance guidance for many manufacturers to join the application of 

sodium hyaluronate in new foods. In the future, the feeding of bioactive substances may be normalized, enabling the upgrading and development of the food industry. 

Many production enterprises should rely on independent innovation to develop more new consumption categories to meet the needs of consumers.

China Food News (06 edition, March 16, 2022)