With the comprehensive promotion of the “Healthy China 2030” plan, the nutritional and health awareness of Chinese citizens is gradually improving, while health products focusing on different segments of needs have also ushered in a new stage of high-quality development. As one of the important types of products in the health industry, a variety of foods and beverages containing functional ingredients have begun to enter people’s daily lives more and more.

Functional Food

At present, there is no clear definition of functional food in China in terms of regulations, which usually refers to a class of food that emphasizes the regulation of human body functions and is suitable for consumption by specific groups of people, but not for the purpose of disease treatment. It has food attributes, functional attributes and non-pharmaceutical attributes, and embodies the cross-fertilization of food science, nutrition, physiology, bioengineering, preventive medicine, biotechnology, food processing technology and other disciplines and technologies.

Currently, China’s functional food is in a rapid growth stage, the research report points out that its industry market size has grown from 137 billion yuan in 2016 to 196.1 billion yuan in 2021, and China has become the world’s largest functional food consumer market; however, in terms of penetration, it is still at a relatively low level of about 20%, while the penetration rate of neighboring Japan has reached 40% to However, the penetration rate is still relatively low at around 20%, while neighboring Japan has a penetration rate of 40% to 50%, which means that China’s functional food market has a huge room for growth and development potential.

Bone Health

Bone health refers to the health of the entire skeletal system, including bones, cartilage, joints, tendons, ligaments, etc.; it runs throughout one’s life, from the healthy development of bones in childhood, to the maintenance of the ideal peak bone mass in middle-age, to the popularization of fall and fracture prevention measures in old age, etc., which everyone needs to understand and master. According to the results of China Osteoporosis Epidemiology Survey released by the National Health Commission, more than half of women over 65 years old in China suffer from osteoporosis; nearly 50% of the people over 50 years old have low bone mass, which is a high-risk group for osteoporosis. It can be seen that bone health problems have seriously affected people’s daily life and work, and with the progress of population aging in China, it has gradually become a health problem that threatens the whole society.

Bone health functional food and raw materials

With the aging of China’s population and the expansion of the sports and fitness population, people have become more and more concerned about bone health. At present, the widely used raw materials for such products mainly include collagen, sodium hyaluronate, fish oil, vitamins, minerals and some plant extracts.

1. Collagen
Collagen is the main component of cartilage, playing an important role in constructing the framework of cartilage tissue, supporting joint weight-bearing, protecting and repairing damaged articular cartilage.

Collagen accounts for about one-third of hard bone and two-thirds of cartilage; therefore, collagen is essential for bone health, and insufficient intake can lead to osteoporosis and joint pain. In China, collagen is a common food ingredient and can be used in beverages and other food products.

2. Sodium Hyaluronate
Sodium hyaluronate, also known as hyaluronic acid, or HA for short, is not only a familiar “beauty product”, but also a famous “joint lubricant”. It exists in the joint cavity and bone fluid, and can combine with proteins to form protein-sodium hyaluronate complex, which prevents cartilage degradation by lubricating and cushioning the joints, ensures normal bending of the joints, and promotes the healing and regeneration of cartilage.

In China, sodium hyaluronate is a new resource food, the scope of use includes milk and dairy products, beverages, alcohol, cocoa products, chocolate and chocolate products (including cocoa butter chocolate and products) and confectionery, frozen drinks.

3. Fish oil
Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids, and relevant studies have found that the intake of omega-3 fatty acids can promote the maintenance of bone density in women.

4. Vitamins
Vitamins are a series of organic compounds that are micro-nutrients needed by living organisms. There are 13 essential vitamins in the human body, among which, the vitamins that are more closely related to the growth, development and maintenance of bones include Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E and Vitamin K. Among them, Vitamin A plays an important role in bone metabolism.

Among them, vitamin A plays an important role in the process of bone metabolism, when the human body consumes too much, it can interfere with cartilage osteogenesis, accelerate bone metabolism, promote bone loss, which leads to lower bone density and increased risk of fracture; and when the human body lacks vitamin A, the same will also have a negative impact on bone growth, at this time, the bone will be overgrowth, which will compress the nerves, resulting in neurological disorders.

Vitamin D and its metabolites can promote the absorption of calcium and phosphorus in the intestines, inhibit the release of parathyroid hormone, to ensure the normal growth and development of bones and normal neuromuscular function, if the lack of vitamin D will cause bone diseases, including nutritional rickets, osteomalacia, osteoporosis and so on.

Vitamin K2 (methyl naphthoquinone synthesized by bacteria) plays an important role in human bone and calcium metabolism, which can promote calcium in the blood to enter the bones, not only to strengthen the bones, but also to the prevention and treatment of arthropathies involving calcification of cartilage, wear and tear, herniation of intervertebral discs and inflammation.

In addition, vitamin C also plays an important role in bone matrix development, osteoblast differentiation and limiting bone resorption.

5.Minerals
The composition of bone includes organic and inorganic substances, the former including collagen, etc., the latter including calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, silicon, fluorine and other minerals. Among them, calcium accounts for about 65%-70% of bone and is the main component of bone.

Among other things, calcium forms strong bones and teeth and effectively reduces bone loss due to aging. Magnesium is a component of human bones and complements calcium to strengthen bones and teeth, help blood circulation and soothe nerves, maintain normal muscle (including heart muscle) and nerve activity, and reduce the chance of calcification of soft tissues. Zinc, copper, manganese and other minerals, together with calcium and magnesium, maintain the internal homeostasis of bone minerals.

6. Plants and their extracts
Avocado and soybean unsaponifiables (avocado soybean unsaponifiables, ASU), is a rich hydrolyzed lipids steroidal compounds, from avocados and soybeans, can inhibit inflammatory factors such as IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and so on, and therefore has anti-inflammatory effects.

Turmeric and curcumin. Turmeric is the dried rhizome of turmeric, a perennial herb in the ginger family, with curcumin and volatile oils as the main active ingredients, and its anti-inflammatory properties help treat osteoarthritis and reduce joint pain. Studies have shown that curcumin can inhibit many of the inflammatory mediators associated with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis. In China, Announcement No. 1 issued by the National Health Commission in March 2022 expanded the application of turmeric as a food additive.

Phytoflavonoids and bioflavonoids, which are polyphenolic extracts, are mainly of plant origin and have strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that they are able to influence the metabolic and biochemical processes that cause the development of OA, and inhibit cytokines in the joints, such as IL-1β, TNF, IL-6, and PGE2. Clinical reports show that the recommended dosage of polyphenols for the treatment of OA is 300-2000 mg/d.

Problems of bone health functional foods in China

At this stage, the development of China’s bone health functional food market is relatively conservative, and there are obvious deficiencies in dosage form as well as raw material innovation.

The consumer population is relatively single. At present, most of the bone health products on the market in the target consumer group, mainly focusing on the traditional middle-aged and elderly market. And other groups, such as children, women, office workers and other attention is not enough.

In fact, children and adolescents is the accumulation of most of the lifetime of bone mass period, in this stage, bone formation is greater than bone resorption, bone mass continues to grow, therefore, the state of nutrition is the influence of children and adolescents bone accumulation of controllable factors, of which, calcium and vitamin D is the most important two major nutrients, you need to pay special attention to these two nutrients of adequate intake.

As women age, they lose further bone mass, often experiencing low back pain, generalized bone pain, shorter height, hunchback and other spinal deformities, fragility fractures, etc. Especially after entering menopause, estrogen levels begin to decline, and the inhibitory effect on osteoclasts is weakened, resulting in a rapid loss of bone mass.

The results of the 2021 China Osteoporosis Epidemiology Survey show that osteoporosis is a particularly serious problem among middle-aged and elderly women in China, with a prevalence rate of 32.1% among women over the age of 50, much higher than that of men of the same age, which is 6%, and as high as 51.6% of women over the age of 65 suffer from osteoporosis. The office workers keep a posture for a long time to work, resulting in too much tension in the shoulder muscles, which is easy to cause cervical spine muscle tension, thus inducing cervical spondylosis and frozen shoulder.

The dosage form is relatively single. Currently, the most common dosage form for bone and joint health products in the Chinese market is the traditional tablet. In the U.S. market, the main gummies, softgels, tablets, three types of dosage forms, according to SPINS retail data, dietary supplements gummies form of sales and accounted for more than tablets.

Raw materials are relatively single. Currently, the main bone health ingredients in the Chinese market are glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, vitamin D3, etc., which have a super high market penetration rate.

This shows that it is crucial to promote product diversification and provide different consumers with products that suit their nutritional status. It is believed that with the growing concern for bone health, a wide range of bone health food products, such as yogurt, beverages and soft candies, in addition to dietary supplements, will appear in the market, so that consumers can protect and maintain their bone health anytime and anywhere.

On the other hand, to address the unmet needs of different groups of people for bone and joint health, we should start from the perspective of segmented customer groups, combine the different demands of different segments of the population for nutritional supplementation of bones and joints, and put forward personalized solutions based on the characteristics of different groups of people such as the elderly group, the annual sports group, the women’s group, and the children’s group by combining the formula with the formulas, the dosage form, the experience, and the effect of multiple dimensions. This is also an important direction for the future development of bone health functional food.