Editor's note: In a series of reports titled "Claims to Fame", China Daily looks at how some regions have earned wealth and recognition through specific products to realize the goal of rural vitalization.

It's in your eyes, joints and skin, and even present in your tissue. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring fluid that has multiple functions in the human body and contributes to joint and skin health, healing and tissue hydration.

An adult human, on average, only has around 15 to 20 grams of this disaccharide polymer, known for its ability to bind water many times its weight. However, the concentration of HA decreases as a person ages and can lead to health problems such as knee pain, wrinkles and eye diseases.

Since 1934, when researchers Karl Meyer and John Palmer of Columbia University in the United States extracted the acid from cows' eyeballs, scientists around the world have been exploring ways to create products containing HA to benefit people's health.

Applications of the substance have also expanded beyond medical use, to beauty products and daily use items such as hand sanitizers and some foods.

The wide use of the gooey fluid has created huge global demand for HA raw materials, with China emerging as the world's largest producer of such products.

China accounted for 82 percent of HA global raw materials sales in 2021, according to the 2021 Global and China Hyaluronic Acid Industry Market Research Report by US research firm Frost & Sullivan.

Jinan, capital city of Shandong province, produces 70 percent of China's HA raw materials, making it the largest production base of hyaluronic acid in the country, said Xu Lei, deputy director of the city's bureau of industry and information technology.

"The total revenue generated from the HA industry in Jinan, including its raw materials and HA end products, surpassed 12 billion yuan ($1.68 billion) last year," Xu said at a news conference during an industry conference in Jinan, this June.

"HA cosmetics and health supplements produced in Jinan have gained widespread popularity," she said.

Once considered a luxury item, hyaluronic acid has become an affordable product used in everyday items due to new production capabilities and methods. At an exhibition hall of one production company based in Jinan, bottled water, pet food, cosmetics and healthcare products featuring HA are on display, indicating its widening uses.

Scientific advances

Scientists started manufacturing hyaluronic acid products in the 1970s after they realized it could be extracted from rooster combs — the fleshy, red, crown on the bird's head. However, this method not only faced challenges in collecting enough rooster combs, but was hampered by low extraction rates and high impurity levels.

Also, few people could afford products that used HA as it was more expensive than gold. It requires 200 kilograms of combs, from approximately 20,000 roosters, to extract 1 kg of hyaluronic acid.

Although starting late, the research and development of the industry in China progressed rapidly.

In the early 1980s, scientists in Jinan successfully extracted the substance from human umbilical cords and rooster combs, marking the first step in China's research on hyaluronic acid. In 1985, scientists in Jinan produced the country's first HA injection for ophthalmic surgery.

In the 1990s, Jinan scientists pioneered a microbial fermentation process to produce hyaluronic acid, which significantly advanced the industry in the city. The breakthrough also brought down the price of hyaluronic acid substantially, making it more available to the general public.

"In the early 1990s, HA was mainly for medical use, particularly in orthopedics and ophthalmology, and it was very expensive," said Liu Aihua, senior president of Bloomage Biotechnology Co based in Jinan.

"At that time, the cost of using HA viscoelastic agents for a cataract surgery was around 2,700 to 3,000 yuan. But now, the cost is around 100 yuan."

With the introduction of HA, cataract surgery, which used to take several hours, could be performed in about 10 minutes.

"The viscoelastic agents made from HA help millions of ophthalmic patients regain their sight each year," said Liu.

As part of its public welfare undertakings, the company has been donating HA viscoelastic agents and intraocular lenses for cataract patients for 10 years.

"In cataract surgery the role of hyaluronic acid in facilitating procedures and protecting the corneal endothelium is well established," said Wang Lihua, 70, an eye expert at Jinan Huashi Eye Hospital.

"Domestic HA viscoelastic agents are high quality. In addition, domestic ones are more affordable," he said.

Sales of eye treatment products using HA reached 2.32 billion yuan in China in 2021, according to industry data. Between 2017 and 2021, the compound annual growth rate of the market was 11.8 percent.

Go on, rub it in

There is also fast-growing demand for the fluid in the cosmetics industry.

A bottle of moisturizing spray priced at 80 yuan has topped online sales of moisturizing products for five consecutive years. Over 700 million yuan in product sales were recorded last year, with the figure projected to reach 900 million yuan this year, said Gao Chunming, chairman of Jinan-based Shandong Freda Biotechnology Co.

Gao and Liu both believe that growing recognition of domestic brands is expanding the market for Chinese HA products.

Last year, Freda's cosmetics revenue hit 2.42 billion yuan, representing year-on-year growth of 22.71 percent, according to the company's annual report.

A dermal filler injection product made by Bloomage saw a year-on-year sales increase of 250 percent, according to its 2023 annual report.

"China's techniques for producing HA are leading the world, which has ensured the quality of HA end products and a reasonable price for consumers," said Liu.

Wang Qian, a Jinan resident and cosmetics seller, likes using local HA moisturizing products on her skin. "It's not a secret in our circle that many top skin care products are using HA produced in Jinan as ingredients," she said.

In the city's supermarkets, local cosmetics are favored by buyers for their affordability and good quality. "Jinan made HA skin care products are one of my favorite gifts to give to my friends," said Wang.

Weighing the options

The molecular weight of HA defines its application in end products, depending on their type and intended function. For example, HA with a molecular weight of less than 10 kDa is desirable for liquids that can be absorbed thoroughly by the skin. One kDa is equivalent to 1,000 daltons, a unit used to express molecular mass.

HA's biochemistry is highly complex, as it interacts with various cell receptors depending on its molecular weight.

Bloomage has been able to produce different HA molecular weights since 2011, the first company in the world to do so, by using an enzyme degradation method. The company can produce the largest HA molecular weight, over 4 million Da, and the smallest, 800 Da, in the world, Liu said.

With its enzyme degradation method, Bloomage now offers over 200 specifications of HA raw materials to meet various production demands. This innovative approach has won the company clients around the world.

The technology has obtained invention patents in China, the United States, the European Union, Japan, and South Korea, and expanded Bloomage's global markets.

HA raw materials generated 1.13 billion yuan in revenue for the company last year, a year-on-year increase of 15.22 percent, according to its annual report. Of the total, 517 million yuan is from overseas markets, representing year-on-year growth of 21.47 percent.

"I have always been proud of the fact that both the top global cosmetics producers and Chinese cosmetics producers are using our HA products," Liu said.

The company's products are sold in over 70 countries and regions including European nations, the United States, South Korea, and Japan.

Expansion of products

The global HA market is poised for major growth, driven by both the cosmetics industry and increasing incidences of osteoarthritis and ophthalmic diseases in aging populations around the world, experts said at the Jinan conference in June.

HA manufacturers are also ramping up their research and development efforts to expand the liquid's applications in more fields. Bloomage spent 446 million yuan on R&D last year, a year-on-year increase of 14.98 percent. Freda spent 166 million yuan, a 10.11 percent yearly increase.

Bloomage has helped expand the use of HA products from traditional areas such as ophthalmology, orthopedics, medical aesthetics, and skin care to new areas including tissue engineering, gastrointestinal health, oral care, pet care and textiles.

Targeted technologies are necessary to unlock the potential use of HA in different fields, Liu said. For example, to use hyaluronic acid in hair care products, the technology must prevent water from rinsing away. For its use in lipsticks, advances are needed to change the molecular structure to make it able to be dissolved with oil.

Gao, of Freda, envisions vast opportunities for HA beyond cosmetics and medical use, particularly in the food and high-end agricultural sectors.

The National Health Commission has approved HA as a new food ingredient, allowing its incorporation into common food products in 2021.

"Unlike medicines that can have immediate effects, HA food products require a process," said Gao, adding that Freda has developed a drinkable HA product that is set to hit the market soon.

"The moisturizing and lubricating effects of HA can protect the gastric mucosa (a protective layer of mucous membrane in the stomach)," he said.

Gao said HA is beneficial in enhancing soil quality, improving plant nutrition, and elevating fruit quality. He said he had tasted an orange grown by the Agricultural Sciences Institute in soil enriched with hyaluronic acid, and it was "very juicy and sweet".

Jinan is also aiming to build its HA industrial base within three years to create a world-class hub for a complete industrial chain that integrates R&D, pilot experiments, production and sales.

The initiative will incorporate government policy support, collaborative innovation and financial support, and is expected to attract a cluster of HA-related companies.

Thirty-two companies involved in the HA business already have facilities in Jinan, the city government said.

zhaoruixue@chinadaily.com.cn