Phytochemical APIs are active chemical compounds extracted from plants with the help of semi-synthetic procedures and possess medicinal properties. Phytochemicals are divided into two categories such as primary and secondary constituents. Primary phytochemicals includes chlorophyll, proteins, sugar, and amino acids, while secondary constituents contain terpenoids and alkaloids. Phytochemical API plays an important role in pharmaceutical companies for the production of new drugs for curing various diseases.

Global Phytochemical API Market Drivers

Increasing preferences of herbal medicines over allopathic drugs is expected to boost growth of the phytochemical API market. Moreover, increasing initiatives by pharmacognosy research to develop drugs containing natural chemical compounds is another factor to drive the phytochemical API market growth. For instance, in 2017, as per new research paper published in the Journal of Natural Compounds, International Cooperative Biodiversity Group discovered new chemical, Patentiflorin A, which is derived from willow-leaved Justicia. Patentiflorin A could inhibit the action of reverse transcriptase much more effectively than Azidothymidine (AZT). AZT is an antiretroviral medication used to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. Patentiflorin A acts as a novel anti-HIV agent that can be used with current anti-HIV drugs to suppress the activity of HIV virus and prevent AIDS.

However, availability of prominent allopathic drugs to cure disease conditions in lesser time interval than herbal drugs is expected to hinder the growth of phytochemical API market.

Global Phytochemical API Market - Regional Analysis

On the basis of region, the global phytochemical API market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.

Geographically, North America is expected to witness conducive growth for phytochemical API market, owing to increasing number of pipeline studies to develop medications containing active chemical compounds extracted from plants. For instance, in August 2018, University of Michigan initiated phase 2/phase 3 clinical trial for colchicine, to study the effect of postoperative treatment of colchicine in Fontan patients. Colchicine, an anti-inflammatory agent, is a toxic alkaloid and secondary metabolite extracted from plants of the genus Colchicum. The study is estimated to complete by June 2020.

Moreover, keys player in Europe are focused on adopting business strategies such as acquisitions and collaborations in order to strengthen its business, which is expected to show significant growth for phytochemical API market in the region. For instance, in 2014, Centroflora CMS, Luxembourg-based pharmaceutical group, acquired phytochemical API product portfolio from Boehringer Ingelheim. The company signed a multi-year exclusive agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim to supply phytochemical APIs products in the market. The acquired product portfolio includes chemical compounds such as atropine and atropine sulfate, digoxin, and digoxin micron, along with metildigoxin, homatropine methylbromide, homatropine hydrobromide, and dihydroergotamine mesylate.

Key players for phytochemical API market include Kothari Phytochemicals & Industries Ltd., Lipo Foods, Medipure Pharmaceuticals Inc., Centroflora CMS, SeQuent Scientific Limited, Arboris LLC, Cargill Inc., Indo Phytochem Pharmaceuticals., and BASF SE.

Global Phytochemical API Market Taxonomy

By Molecule Type