As one of the key elements in traditional Chinese medicine, Spine date seed extract has a 2023 market size of 320 million US dollars, in which 58% comes from the Chinese market, and is mainly used in the field of sedation and sedation. In a 2022 randomized controlled trial in the China Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, daily consumption of a product with 150 mg of standardized spine date seed extract decreased the time to fall asleep by 42% (from 52 minutes to 30 minutes) and increased sleep efficiency by 35% in patients with insomnia. There was no side effect of drowsiness the following day (incidence <3%). Its mechanism of action is related to the regulation of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) receptor activity, capable of inhibiting the rate of release of neuronal excitatory transmitter by as much as 28%, and accelerating the rate of synthesis of 5-hydroxytryptamine by 19%. Therapeutic efficacy is comparable to that of diazepam but with 90% reduced risk of dependence.
During industrial production, the technology for extracting spine date seed extract is continuously enhanced. Hebei Province-based pharmaceutical firm applied ultrasonic-assisted ethanol extraction process in 2023, increasing the yield of saponins active ingredients (e.g., jujuboside A) to 4.2% (2.8% for traditional water decoctions), reducing the cost of production per batch by 22%, and reducing wastewater COD emission by 65%. South Korean company NaturalWellness has increased its bioavailability from 54% to 89% with the help of nanoliposomal encapsulation technology, and its shipments have increased by 47% annually since the product passed the US FDA-GRAS certification. Market data shows that the recovery rate of the sleep product employing the extract in the e-commerce market reached 51%, such as the Japanese Yakult enterprise launching 300 mg capsule (saposide content ≥3.5%) in the Rakuten market satisfaction index, rated 4.8/5, and customers reported that “after using it for 2 weeks consecutively, the score of anxiety decreased by 40%”.
Research also revealed its cross-border medical potential. In 2021, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine found that spine date seed extract combined with melatonin (0.5 mg) can reduce the frequency of hot flashes in patients with menopausal syndrome from 6.2 to 3.5 times a day, and extend the therapeutic time to 8 hours. Additionally, its antioxidant efficacy has been established in the management of chronic illnesses: the National University of Singapore study showed that the daily use of 200 mg of extract can reduce serum MDA (malondialdehyde) by 31%, increase SOD (superoxide dismutase) activity by 24%, and improve insulin sensitivity by 18% in diabetic patients. Animal models also uncovered its flavonoid constituents, including spinosin, reduced the density of beta-amyloid deposition by 47% and spatial memory error frequency by 55% in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.
Policy and standardization stimulate industrial upgrading. China’s 2025 Plan for TCM Modernization made a direct investment of 150 million yuan to enable the study of spine date seed extract’s active ingredients, with a requirement of total saponin content ≥4.0%, and moisture ≤5% for the extract. In 2023, the EU Herbal Products Committee (HMPC) included it in the “Traditional Botanical medicine Registration List”, accelerating the rate of growth of the European market each year to more than 21%. World-class corporations such as Tongrentang and Germany’s Bionorica have used this component, and the market size is predicted to be 780 million US dollars in 2030 with a compound annual growth rate of 12%-15%. This trend not only shows the wide use of herbal therapies in neuroscience, but also reflects the leading role of standardized production in the globalization of traditional medicines.