In-depth knowledge of dihydroquercetin (Douglas fir) and quercetin

Quercetin is a flavonoid widely distributed in the plant kingdom and is found in many vegetables, fruits and herbal medicines. quercetin was first isolated and identified by Szent-Gyorgyi in 1936. The US FDA has approved quercetin processed and produced from natural products (≥99.5%) as a GRAS substance in 2010. In addition, in Japan and Korea, quercetin is included in the categories of extant food additives and natural food additives, respectively. The intake of quercetin in the population in most countries is generally 10-20 mg/d. Quercetin is currently not a medicine, health food or food ingredient in China.

Dihydroquercetin, also known as paclitaxel and Douglas fir, is a dihydroflavonol compound that belongs to the vitamin P group. Dihydroquercetin is the reduced form of quercetin, which is the product of hydrogenation of the double bond at the 2,3 position in the parent nucleus of the flavonoid. it was first discovered in 1938 by the Hungarian biochemist Albert Szent-Gyorgyi. Dihydroquercetin is commonly found in Siberian larch, yellow fir (Douglas-fir), cedar and yew, and in recent years has also been found in fruits such as grapes, oranges and grapefruit. dihydroquercetin was approved by the European Union in 2017 as a new food ingredient for the EU market. In the USA and Russia dihydroquercetin was initially listed as a pharmaceutical ingredient, but as it developed it was later extended to the food sector; there are also countries such as Japan, Korea, Thailand and Canada that use dihydroquercetin as a raw material for medicinal, functional food, special dietary and cosmetic applications.

Dihydroquercetin is a globally scarce resource and is an extremely valuable ingredient for pharmaceuticals and functional foods. As yew and yellow fir are listed as globally endangered species and banned from harvesting, and larch is only found in eastern Siberia in Russia, northeastern Mongolia, northeastern China and North Korea, and has a long growth cycle, the resources available for production are extremely scarce and scarce. It is understood that only China and Russia have the technology to extract and produce dihydroquercetin on a large scale, and the domestic production capacity of dihydroquercetin in China is about 16 tonnes, with a global annual production of no more than 30 tonnes.

Dihydroquercetin is regarded as the most natural and precious "all-purpose antioxidant" of "luxury goods" found in the world so far. According to data, the global demand for dihydroquercetin is 70 tonnes by 2027. At present, only the United States, Russia, Japan and other countries have developed a variety of products for medicinal use and consumption with dihydroquercetin as raw material.