With support from the National Science and Technology Council’s Industry-Academia Alliance Program and the “Industry-Academia Linkage” initiative under Track C of the Ministry of Education’s Higher Education Sprout Project, National Chiayi University (NCYU) has integrated its research and development capabilities and industry-academia collaboration resources. The university has assisted Yingfang Biotechnology in developing a green, scalable production process and quality specifications for a nanovesicle ingredient derived from the roots of Taiwan-grown Phalaenopsis orchids. The ingredient recently completed the international cosmetic ingredient naming process and received the INCI name “Phalaenopsis sp. Root Vesicles,” facilitating subsequent ingredient identification, labeling, formulation development, and communication with global clients. This achievement marks an important milestone in NCYU’s efforts to commercialize and internationalize its research results.
In this collaboration, NCYU integrated technologies involving botanical raw materials, biomimetic green extraction, the isolation and concentration of plant-derived extracellular vesicles, quality analysis, and product applications. This helped Yingfang Biotechnology develop the production process, establish quality specifications, and prepare the Phalaenopsis nanovesicle ingredient for commercialization. This work is gradually transforming laboratory research materials into high-value cosmetic ingredients with clearly defined sources, documented production processes, quality specifications, and application potential. At the core of the technology is a plant biomimetic green solvent developed by NCYU. Using naturally derived ingredients, the research team formulated an extraction system that closely mimics the physiological environment of plant cells. They also tailored the formulations to the characteristics of different plant tissues, bioactive compounds, and intended product applications, establishing a “one plant, one formulation” precision green extraction strategy.
Plant exosome-like extracellular vesicles (EVs) are naturally occurring nanoscale vesicles released by plant cells, thus commonly referred to as “plant nanovesicles.” These vesicles are extremely small, with their structures readily affected by processing conditions. Maintaining their nanoscale characteristics and quality stability during isolation and concentration from plant materials and subsequent storage is therefore critical to moving the technology from research toward commercialization. The NCYU team introduced a biomimetic green solvent to provide a gentler extraction environment and combined it with low-temperature ultrasonication and patented membrane separation technology to release, isolate, and concentrate plant nanovesicles. Quality specifications were established based on particle size distribution, particle concentration, morphological observations, and compositional analysis. This technology aims not merely to “extract more,” but to “extract better.” Through a gentle process, the technology preserves the distinctive characteristics of botanical raw materials while transforming research materials into high-value ingredients suitable for consistent production, batch-to-batch quality control, and further product development.
Prof. Cheng-Nan Chen of NCYU’s Department of Biochemical Science and Technology said that for plant nanovesicles to progress from research samples to industrial ingredients, several challenges must still be overcome, including susceptibility to processing conditions, batch-to-batch variation in raw materials, storage stability, and large-scale isolation. He emphasized that during conventional aqueous extraction, vesicles may rupture, aggregate, or undergo quality changes due to processing conditions. Biomimetic green solvents do much more than simply replace conventional extraction methods. They enable extraction environments to be tailored to the characteristics of different plants. This approach allows plant bioactive compounds to be extracted while preserving the quality characteristics of the nanovesicles as much as possible. Securing the INCI name marks a key milestone achieved by NCYU and its industry partner, spanning the process from botanical materials through green processing and quality analysis to international ingredient naming. This brings Taiwan’s plant nanovesicle technology closer to meeting the global cosmetics industry’s requirements for ingredient specifications and quality management.
Angus Shih, Chairman of Yingfang Biotechnology, stated that global consumer demand continues to grow for premium ingredients that are naturally derived, sustainably processed, and backed by scientific specifications. With an INCI name now established for the Taiwan Phalaenopsis nanovesicle ingredient, subsequent ingredient labeling, formulation development, quality documentation, and collaboration with international clients will be facilitated. Moving forward, both parties will conduct further formulation compatibility testing and application validation for high-value skincare products. NCYU’s biomimetic green extraction technology features naturally derived components, gentle processing, and ingredient differentiation, allowing customized quality and compositional analysis data to be established according to specific plant and product requirements. For companies, this is no longer simply a conventional plant extract, but a premium ingredient with increasingly well-defined process specifications, quality documentation, and application potential, helping brands develop distinctive products and expand into global markets.
NCYU President Han-Chien Lin noted that the university has long drawn on the Industry-Academia Alliance Program and the Higher Education Sprout Project to bridge campus research and development, corporate needs, and industry supply chains. These efforts help transform Taiwan’s distinctive plants from agricultural materials into biotech ingredients with defined quality specifications and market value. This achievement demonstrates that, beyond their ornamental and agricultural value, Phalaenopsis orchids can also be combined with plant nanovesicle, biomimetic green extraction, and materials analysis technologies to unlock high-value applications. Green processing and sustainable ingredients have become key areas of development in the global biotechnology and cosmetics industries. NCYU will continue to build on its interdisciplinary strengths in agriculture, biotechnology, process engineering, materials analysis, and industry-academia collaboration to help companies transform Taiwan’s distinctive plants into innovative ingredients that are sustainable, scientifically defined, and globally competitive.
The two parties will continue to validate ingredient stability, batch-to-batch consistency, formulation compatibility, functionality and safety, while progressively refining ingredient specification sheets, batch test reports, and product application data. By expanding partnerships with international brands and pursuing long-term supply opportunities, the two parties will further develop an innovative plant nanovesicle model built on “Taiwanese plants, NCYU technology, green processing and commercialization.”
Note: INCI names are primarily used for international identification and ingredient naming of cosmetic raw materials. Ingredient labeling, Chinese naming, and related product claims remain subject to the actual ingredients used and applicable regulations in each market.
Photo 1: NCYU’s green extraction technology for
plant nanovesicles. (Photo courtesy of Prof. Cheng-Nan Chen)
Photo 2: Prof. Cheng-Nan Chen (center) of the
Department of Biochemical Science and Technology presents a new product
developed through the Industry-Academia Alliance Program. (Photo courtesy of
Prof. Cheng-Nan Chen)