herbal extract performs its physiological effects by acting on biomolecular pathways. Curcumin, for example, reduced IL-6 by 53% in chronic inflammatory patients by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway (only 18% in the control group), and a daily dose of 500mg reduced the volume of swelling in joints by 42% (Journal of Medicinal Food 2021 study). Ginkgo biloba extract EGb761 slowed down cognitive decline speed among Alzheimer patients by 34% by regulating acetylcholinesterase activity (inhibition rate 68%), and enhanced MMSE score by 2.7 points (baseline 18.3 points) with uninterrupted treatment for 6 months of 240mg/day in clinical trials.
Antioxidant mechanism is one of the functions necessary in herbal extract. The antioxidant ability of green tea polyphenol (EGCG) is 25 times more than vitamin C, and its free radical scavenging activity is 1.2×10⁴ M⁻¹s⁻¹. The 1% concentration is able to reduce UV-induced degradation of collagen by 68%. In 2023, L ‘Oreal’s salidroside extract (≥98% purity) lengthened the telomere of skin cells by 12% by stimulating the SIRT1 gene, and clinical trials showed that 56% of subjects reduced the depth of wrinkles by ≥30%. By stimulating the Nrf2 pathway, resveratrol reduced the content of MDA (malondialdehyde), a marker of oxidative stress, from 4.8nmol/mg to 2.1nmol/mg, which was 3.2 times lower than the synthetic antioxidant BHT.
In metabolic control, herbal extract shows the characteristic of precise intervention. Momordicin has the ability to reduce the peak postpranpranal glucose by 32% (28% of acarbose) through the inhibition of alpha-glucosidase (IC50=0.38μg/mL), at a price which is only 1/5 of the chemical drug. Withanolides extract (Withanolides≥5%) improved sleep efficiency in chronically stressed subjects from 71% to 84% (PSQI score decreased by 4.3 points) by reducing cortisol levels (22% per day). An AI model developed at MIT in 2022 approximated that berberine (berberine), which regulates lipid metabolism through the AMPK pathway, reduced liver fat content by 47% in high-fat diet-fed mice (compared to 13% in controls).
Nanotechnology revolutionized the pharmaceutical bioavailability of herbal extract. If the particle size of curcumin in nano-liposomes was kept between 80-120nm, its bioavailability rose from 1% of the natural product to 42% (the concentration of curcumin in blood Cmax rose from 0.8μg/mL to 3.5μg/mL). LipoCellTech’s proprietary technology extends the half-life of resveratrol from 3 hours to 18 hours, reduces one effective dose from 150mg to 20mg, and reduces manufacturing costs by 58 percent (from $9,200 to $3,850 per kilogram). The magnetic nanoparticle-based target delivery system developed by the Korean scientists in 2023 improved the enrichment rate of paclitaxel in tumor tissue from 12% to 89%, and the tumor volume reduction rate in the mouse model was 2.7 times higher.
Industrial process parameters regulate the efficacy threshold of herbal extract. When CO₂ is used in supercritical to extract peppermint essential oil, pressure should maintain 80-100Bar, and the temperature is 40°C, with the menthol purity being able to reach 99.5% (92% for traditional distillation method), but equipment energy consumption is reduced by 40% (electricity consumption per kg reduced from 18kWh to 10.8kWh). Ultrasonic-assisted extraction (power 500W, frequency 40kHz) can increase green tea polyphenol recovery to 24% from 12%, and decrease time from 3 hours to 45 minutes. Microwave optimal parameters for rutin extraction were solid-liquid ratio 1:30, 70°C of temperature, and 15 minutes of time, which can be increased 37% of the rate of extraction from 8.2mg/g to 11.2mg/g compared with conventional ethanol reflux method.