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Freshly awarded the National Science and Technology Council's "Outstanding Research Award," Professor Wang Sheng-Yang is implementing circular economy practices to create green energy.

The Department of Forestry at National Chung Hsing University, established in 1919, boasts a long history. Its complex and winding structure resembles the intertwining branches of trees, with hallways lined with scientific research achievements and filled with research instruments and materials.

Professor Wang, who integrates research, policy, and industry, recently received the "Outstanding Research Award." He joyfully shared his thoughts on the honor, jokingly stating that his continuous dedication to the development and research of essential oil products stems from a strong sense of duty "for the nation and for the people."

A small drop of forest essential oil requires 1 kilogram of wood for extraction; producing 1 kilogram of Taiwan incense cedar essential oil requires 500 kilograms of wood. A bottle of essential oil contains the power of an entire forest. In recent years, the Forestry Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture has invested in the development of forest plant essential oils, collaborating with Wang Sheng-Yang, a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Forestry at National Chung Hsing University and Dean of the College of Circular Economy Research, to create an essential oil industry chain. This initiative began in April 2023 with the establishment of the "National Essential Oil Testing Center."

"For Taiwan's essential oils to enter the international market, they must meet trade standards and provide safety certificates that detail their composition. Only then can we make money and develop an industry," said Wang Sheng-Yang. Taiwan must promote products with special benefits and unique ingredients to seize opportunities, and Taiwan incense cedar, Cinnamomum osmophloeum (indigenous cinnamon), Vitex negundo (chaste tree), and Taiwania essential oils are prime examples.

"I study natural substances," Wang said, referring to his research in natural product chemistry, wood chemistry, plant metabolomics, and natural drug development. His academic work centers on natural metabolites, branching out into various areas, including essential oil research and development.

Extracting Useful Aromatic Substances: The Connection Between Natural Products and Modern Life

Essential oils are natural products, more specifically "secondary metabolites" produced by plants. Metabolites are compounds produced during metabolic processes, and secondary metabolites, though not directly involved in plant growth and development, often play roles in defense, competition, and stress resistance. They are crucial for plant self-protection and reproduction.

Secondary metabolites typically have diverse chemical structures and biological activities, with potential antimicrobial, antioxidant, antibacterial, insecticidal, and anticancer properties. They have broad applications in medicine, agriculture, and the food industry. Examples include tannins, which are used in leather tanning; caffeine, known for its stimulating effects; and cinnamaldehyde, which gives cola drinks their spicy flavor—showcasing how secondary plant metabolites are used in everyday life.

Essential oils are volatile aromatic compounds extracted from plants, and different parts of the same plant, such as fruits, leaves, petals, or stems, can yield different essential oil components. Due to their natural properties, essential oils have widespread applications. "Currently, around 3,000 essential oils are known, of which roughly one-tenth are commercially significant, particularly in industries such as food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agriculture, sanitation, and perfumes," Wang said.

An Ancient Industry with Endless Potential: Low Technical Barriers and Wide Applications

Human use of essential oils dates back millennia, with records of their use in ancient civilizations such as Rome, Egypt, Babylon, India, and the Zhou Dynasty in East Asia, where they were used in medical treatments, beauty care, and religious rituals. Wang pointed out that ancient Egyptian mummies were wrapped in cloth containing various spices and essential oil ingredients. "You can imagine that essential oil use dates back to those times, proving it's not a novel technology." Primitive distillation techniques were recorded in the Middle East before the Common Era, with clear evidence of essential oil distillation from the early Middle Ages. "Essential oils are an old industry. The technical barriers are low—it's just distillation and extraction."

Taiwan was once a leader in the essential oil industry. During the Japanese colonial period, Taiwan was the world’s top exporter of camphor, and in the 1950s, Taiwan’s citronella oil exports ranked among the highest globally. At that time, along with peppermint oil and camphor oil, these products were important sources of foreign exchange for Taiwan. However, after 1968, the rise of chemical synthesis technologies led to a decline in the use of natural citronella oil, and the natural fragrance industry gradually faded.

In 1996, Taiwan introduced aromatherapy, and essential oil products began to gain public recognition. The final uses of essential oils span many industries, with growing demand in food and beverages, personal care, cosmetics, and aromatherapy. According to Medicinal Agroecology, edited by Immo N. Fiebrig, an honorary professor at the University of Nottingham, the global essential oil market exceeded $10 billion in size, with production more than doubling since 2017. Wang believes that essential oils are an attractive industry with great potential for development, though not every country or region is suited to participate.

With Western essential oils dominating the market, how can Taiwan’s essential oils gain ground? "The bottleneck isn’t that our products are bad—it’s that we need to build a complete industry chain," Wang emphasized.

Three Key Points: Raw Materials, Labor, and Branding for a Complete Industry Chain

Wang pointed out that the first issue is the source of raw materials. After Cinnamomum osmophloeum essential oil entered the market, the question arose: where will the raw materials come from? "Now they sell 1 kilogram of leaves for NT$600, and after distillation, they sell one drop of essential oil. For 1cc of essential oil, you need to charge NT$100–200 just to cover costs. How can we promote it at that price?" Biotechnology companies have inquired about developing Cinnamomum osmophloeum health products. Since these companies require pure hydrosols, Wang has mediated, setting the price of 1 kilogram of leaves at NT$300.

"For example, with incense cedar essential oil, someone asked me where they could find the raw materials. Japan wants to buy 12 kilograms at once, but 1 kilogram of wood only produces 2cc of essential oil. For that amount of oil, you'd need 6 tons of wood. The supply needs to be sufficient."

Wang recalled that early on, when Fusen Sustainable Enterprise extracted essential oils from Cryptomeria japonica (Japanese cedar), they were willing to pay NT$8,000 per ton for leaves, but someone had to be willing to collect them. Thus, in addition to having enough raw materials, the second issue is labor—someone has to harvest and handle the materials.

The third issue is branding and positioning. "For the industry to continue developing, there needs to be a distinctive product with functional properties that can sell," Wang said. Taiwan doesn't need to compete with mature international products like lavender essential oil because its production volumes are much smaller. "To sell Taiwan’s essential oils internationally, we need representative products. We don’t need many—just one or two will suffice." Wang cited Taiwan incense cedar as an example, which grows in central Taiwan, including in Nantou and Taichung, as well as in the National Taiwan University Experimental Forest and the Huisun Forest Station of National Chung Hsing University. These areas show potential for establishing an industry.

Aside from supply chain issues, controlling essential oil quality is challenging. Wang explained that different growing regions and production conditions affect the quality and composition of essential oils. Additionally, there are some low-quality or counterfeit essential oil products, which could harm the reputation of the entire industry. A lack of testing and certification mechanisms has been a longstanding issue hampering the stable development of Taiwan's essential oil industry.

National Essential Oil Testing Center Assists with Quality Control: TAF Certification Expected by Mid-2024

Essential oils are composed of complex mixtures of compounds, with varying concentrations of different components. Their composition depends on extraction techniques, local environmental conditions, and cultivation practices. Wang said, "Identifying essential oils is difficult because it requires a sufficient variety of reference standards and extensive data and experience to accurately verify the components. For example, Taiwan's native species like incense cedar and Taiwania aren’t available in other countries, so it's impossible to purchase standard samples elsewhere. Under such circumstances, to gain international recognition, we need the ability to conduct testing and certification."

This is the first mission of the "National Essential Oil Testing Center." Using a variety of professional testing instruments, such as colorimeters, polarimeters, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, the center establishes standard operating procedures to assist consumers, research institutions, and manufacturers in verifying product ingredients.

The National Essential Oil Testing Center began operations last year. Wang’s team said that so far, most of the testing requests come from local branches of the Forestry Bureau. For example, there are many different strains of Cinnamomum osmophloeum, each with slightly different components. The branches seek to determine the type of strain they are extracting, and if the strain has a higher cinnamaldehyde content, it would have greater economic value and could be commercialized. Currently, the center processes about 4–8 tests per month. The center has also applied for laboratory certification from the Taiwan Accreditation Foundation (TAF), and approval is expected by June of this year.

Wang believes that while many plants can be used to extract essential oils, it’s crucial to find scents that represent Taiwan. "If we want to sell Taiwan's essential oils internationally, we need to comply with international trade regulations, such as ingredient testing and safety certificates, to prove the essential oil components. Only then can we make money and develop an industry."

Incense Cedar Essential Oil Contains Nearly 70% Cedrol: Next Target—Taiwania Essential Oil; Vitex Negundo Shows Potential

"Incense cedar is excellent!" Wang said, endorsing incense cedar as his top choice. Incense cedar is a native species of Taiwan. "There’s still enough incense cedar in Taiwan for development, and its secondary metabolites have multifunctional properties, including strong antibacterial components." Incense cedar is found at elevations between 1,500 and 2,300 meters, and the main aromatic compound in its essential oil is cedrol, which is present in conifer essential oils, especially in the Cupressus and Juniperus genera.

"In other essential oils, cedrol content rarely exceeds 15%, but in incense cedar essential oil, the content is close to 70%," Wang said. Cedrol has antibacterial, antiseptic, antispasmodic, sedative, and diuretic properties and can be used to treat skin infections. Wang's research team has conducted several clinical studies on animals, concluding that incense cedar essential oil has significant efficacy as a mosquito repellent. When the oil was applied to the skin of mice and placed in a mosquito enclosure, the mosquitos refused to bite.

Article source: https://www.agriharvest.tw/archives/113503