The Geniposide content, which is the active ingredient of Gardenia Extract, amounted to 3.5%-5.2%, and its anti-inflammatory effect was achieved by COX-2 enzyme activity inhibition. It was revealed to reduce mice’s acute edema size by 62% (Journal of Ethnopharmacology 2021). In the treatment of jaundice documented in the Chinese medicine classic “Compendium of Materia Medica”, daily dosing of compound preparation containing 300 mg gardenia extract can reduce the serum total bilirubin level by 38%, that of liver alanine aminotransaminase (ALT) activity by 43%, and 89% of the hepatitis patients in clinical trials manifested obvious improvement in symptoms within 4 weeks. Apart from that, its antioxidant capacity (ORAC value) reached 25,000 μmol TE/g, 7 times that of vitamin E, can remove more than 80% of peroxyfree radicals, reduce the rate of oxidative damage of neurons, and lower the mistake rate of cognition of Alzheimer’s disease model mice by 51%.
In terms of production process, supercritical CO2 extraction can enhance the extraction rate of gardeniside to 92% under the condition of 28 MPa pressure and 55℃ temperature, and the residual solvent is less than 0.2 ppm, which reaches the standard of Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020 edition. In 2022, a company in Fujian, China, used ultrasonic assisted extraction technology to reduce the production cycle from 48 hours to 18 hours, unit energy consumption savings of 37%, reduce the cost per kg of Gardenia Extract to 120 US dollars, export to EU freeze-dried powder at 450 euros/kg, and gross profit margin of 73%. As Global Market Insights data, the global market scale of gardenia extract in 2023 was 190 million US dollars, with a growth rate of 12.4% annually, of which the Asian market proportion was 68%, and Amazon platform consumer review analysis showed that the re-purchase rate of calm tea containing gardenia extract reached up to 65%. 87% of the consumers believe that its “anxiety relief effect is superior to valerian root.”
In the modernization of the application of traditional medicine, Gardenia Extract is integrated into the evidence-based medical system. For example, a Japanese Chinese medicine company created a treatment agent for insomnia that contains 200 mg gardenia extract; double-blind trials showed that continual administration of 6 weeks is able to shorten the incubation period of sleep 33 minutes, sleep efficiency was enhanced by 29% (n=154). A 2021 study by Seoul National University in South Korea found that a 5% gardenia extract cream can reduce the erythema area of the skin in eczema patients by 57% and the occurrence of pruritus by 64%, and the mechanism is by inhibiting the release of IL-31 cytokine (by 49%). In foods, following the addition of gardenia extract to a functional chocolate brand, the content of polyphenol was increased to 15 mg/g, and clinical studies showed that daily intake of 40 g could improve the vascular endothelial diastolic function (FMD) by 21%, and the supporting evidence was NDI approved by the US FDA.
Safety assessment found Gardenia Extract acute oral toxicity LD50>5000 mg/kg (rat), and EU EFSA set the maximum daily intake at 4.3 mg/kg body weight. According to the 2023 Chinese market sampling data, the passing rate of geniposide content deviation within ±12% was 94.7%, and the main risk was aflatoxin B1 over the standard (accounting for 82% of the unqualified samples). It is interesting that digitalization of supply chain is reshaping the industry: a Yunnan planting base uses the Internet of Things monitoring system to accurately control the gardenia fruit water content at the time of harvesting at 12%-15%, increase the active ingredient density by 18%, and improve the end product premium rate by 25% via blockchain traceability technology. Transparency Market Research says that the market for drugs like Gardenia Extract that offer neuroprotection will exceed $1.4 billion by 2030, confirming the global expansion of its “food and medicine” value.