How Much Do You Know About L-theanine?

1.L-theanine Introduction

L-theanine, also called glutamic acid γ-ethylamide, is a unique non-protein amino acid in tea. It naturally exists in tea. The content in tea varies with different tea varieties. It generally accounts for 1%-2% of dry tea's weight. It owns a variety of functional properties relevant to food science and human nutrition, making it an extremely valuable food and beverage additive.

2.Market Situation

According to《2022-2027 China L-Theanine Project Investment Feasibility Study Report, L-theanine is highly safe and has no toxic or side effects. It can be used in the production and processing fields of medicine, health products, food, etc.

Among them, the field of health care products for improving sleep quality has received the most attention. In 2021, the global L-theanine market size will be approximately US$49.5 million. It is expected to continue to grow at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 6.2% from 2022 to 2027, and the market size will reach US$71.02 million by 2027.

In 2020, China's L-theanine production reached 682.9 tons, accounting for 77.89% of the global total production. The main consumption areas of L-theanine include China, Japan, the United States, Europe and other places. The demand for L-theanine products in emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific such as India is growing rapidly. In the food field, the preparation of health foods that improve sleep has attracted the most attention. Last year, the main uses of L-theanine in the international market were the pharmaceutical industry accounting for 8.94%, the food/beverage industry accounting for 66.74%, and the health care products industry accounting for 24.82%. L-Theanine has become an important additive in many foods. For example, chocolate, which is loved by consumers in various countries, is added with L-theanine raw material to increase its nutritional value and improve its taste.

L-theanine

3.Production Technology

According to the different production process routes of L-theanine, it can be roughly divided into three types: Chemical synthesis method, Microbial fermentation method and Plant extraction method.

Tea tree is a major source of L-theanine. However, the successful extraction of L-theanine from plants is limited by environmental conditions. Furthermore, the chemical synthesis of L-theanine is inefficient due to the production of undesirable stereoisomers that affect downstream applications.

To overcome these problems, microbial engineering processes based on enzyme catalysis and fermentation have become sustainable manufacturing methods for L-theanine biosynthesis. Advantages of fermentation way include proven microbial engineering tools and strategies and high productivity, the production process is simple, the cost of raw materials is low, it is more natural than chemical synthesis to produce L-theanine, and there is no risk of genetic modification. Japan's microbial fermentation production has long been a global leader. Japan Kyowa Hakko Co., Ltd. and its peers have developed a new process that uses bacterial fermentation to convert industrial starch into L-theanine, and will soon put the L-theanine produced by fermentation into the international market.

Shaanxi Lifewe Bioengineering Co., Ltd. also uses the same fermentation method to produce L-theanine, and the technology is quite mature and has been exported to global markets such as the United States and Europe in large quantities.

From the side of history development, by the beginning of the 21st century, the international market had formed a tripartite situation of natural (extracted from tea) L-theanine, synthetic L-theanine and fermentation-produced L-theanine. Due to the emergence of large quantities of synthetic L-theanine and fermented L-theanine, the price of L-theanine in the international market has fallen rapidly.

L-theanine

Although L-theanine was first discovered and extracted from tea leaves, L-theanine may have nothing to do with tea now, because L-theanine extracted from natural tea leaves is not a mainstream source on the market. At present, the production of chemically synthesized L-theanine accounts for nearly 2/3 of the international L-theanine market, and L-theanine produced by fermentation method accounts for 25%(Because it comes out later than chemical synthesis). Natural L-theanine has retreated to third place due to slow growth in production and the share is less than 10%.

From 2018 to 2022, in China, the market share of L-theanine produced by fermentation method has increased from 8% to 32%, and the market share of chemical method has dropped from 80% to 58%. Based on the cost advantage of fermentation method, The market share of fermentation method will continue to maintain the above changes, and the market share of fermentation method is expected to further expand.

4.Regulatory status

Currently, in the global market, L-theanine obtained by chemical methods, fermentation methods and plant extraction methods is allowed to be used in food and health products. The regulatory status of L-theanine varies by country. In Japan, L-theanine has been approved for use in all foods, with some restrictions in the case of infant foods. In the United States, the FDA considers it to be GRAS and allows its use as an ingredient in dietary supplements or foods up to a maximum of 250 mg per serving.

5.Market Drivers

L-Theanine is the main component of the refreshing taste of tea, and can alleviate the bitter taste of caffeine and tea polyphenols. It can also be added in a certain amount during the production process of tea beverages, which can significantly improve the quality of tea beverages. The newly developed "raw tea" beverage by Japan's Kirin Company adds L-theanine, which has been a great success in the Japanese beverage market. At present, the Japanese and American markets are developing rapidly, and the development of L-theanine in the future is full of great potential.