As an important raw material for traditional Chinese medicine and modern functional food, the choice of harvesting season for Eucommia ulmoides directly affects the quality and efficacy of the product. Years of field observation and laboratory analysis have shown that there is a clear difference in chemical composition between new leaves sprouting in spring and mature leaves in autumn, and this difference determines their most suitable application direction.
Eucommia ulmoides has obvious seasonal characteristics in its growth:
March to May each year is the spring budding period, when young leaves are born and metabolism is vigorous
June to August enters the summer rapid growth period
September to November reaches the autumn maturity period, when the leaves accumulate a large amount of active substances
Winter enters a dormant state and is not suitable for harvesting
Through the component testing of leaves in different seasons, we found that:
Features of spring leaves:
• Chlorogenic acid is more active but the total amount is small
• Mainly composed of easily absorbed oligosaccharides
• Contains the highest content of aucubin throughout the year
• Flavonoids have excellent antioxidant properties
• The content of colloid is relatively low
Features of autumn leaves:
• The content of various active ingredients reaches the peak of the year
• Polysaccharides exist in the form of high polysaccharides
• The content of aucubin is slightly reduced but more stable
• Especially suitable for extracting eucommia gum
• Better ingredient stability
From the application point of view, young leaves harvested in spring are more suitable for:
→ Making high-end health drinks
→ Developing easily absorbed skin care products
→ Production of antioxidant products
Mature leaves harvested in autumn are more suitable for:
→ Pharmaceutical raw material production
→ Functional food additives
→ Industrial gum extraction
→ Products that require long-term storage
Based on these findings, we recommend a seasonal harvesting strategy:
1. Focus on harvesting from March to May for high value-added products
2. Concentrate harvesting from September to November to meet bulk demand
3. Use rapid testing technology to ensure harvesting timing
4. Use modern drying technology to retain active ingredients
This scientific harvesting method can not only ensure the quality of raw materials, but also give full play to the seasonal advantages of Eucommia leaves, providing the most suitable raw material basis for downstream product development.
