China authorities announced 4 novel food ingredients, including PQQ (Pyrroloquinoline quinone) on Oct. 7, 2023. PQQ thus becomes the first novel food ingredient that has been accepted ever since 2023.
PQQ is naturally found in a variety of foods such as milk, eggs, spinach, etc., but usually in trace amounts. Nutritional supplements, nutraceuticals, or functional foods can ensure a sufficient dosage. Actually, PQQ was approved twice, respectively on March 3rd, 2022, and Oct. 7th, 2023. The main difference lies in production processes; one is chemical synthesis and the other is microbial fermentation.
PQQ has been proven to support cardiovascular cerebrovascular health, improve mitochondrial function, improve cognition, work as an antioxidant, and help with stress. PQQ can be paired with a variety of nutrients, such as NMN, coenzyme Q10, vitamin C, vitamin E, grape seed extract, lutein, etc.
Although the biological effect and safety assessment of PQQ still need to be further evaluated, we can see PQQ will be quite promising on the China market.