A review of the knowledge base for the development of natural ingredients value chains for a sustainable biobased economy in Colombia

Abstract

Natural ingredients (NIs) from plant biodiversity represent a value creation strategy in the transition to a sustainable biobased economy, especially in biodiversity rich countries. A necessary action to achieve this purpose is to orientate research and strengthen the knowledge base of NIs following a value chain (VC) approach. Although the promotion of NIVCs has gained increasing attention in the bioeconomy, a description of the scientific progress, research advances and gaps towards their development is necessary. This review aimed to scrutinize the existing literature on NIVCs to determine its state of progress. Firstly, we explored the global diffusion of research on natural plant ingredients. Secondly, we examined the research landscape in Colombia, focusing on the cooperation between countries, economic sectors impacted, and plant species reported. Lastly, we selected the most reported plant species as a promising NI source in Colombia to assess the literature that constitute the knowledge base of this plant in relation to the VC building blocks: biomass production, biomass processing, product development, and transversal aspects such as sustainability and governance. We show that research on NIs has risen worldwide, with notable scientific output from China, India, and the United States. In Colombia, the interest in NIs from plant biodiversity has also gained importance in the research agenda. Its progress is based on extensive collaboration between institutions, mainly from Spain, the United States, and Brazil. Its research prospects include diverse applications in the pharmaceutical and food sectors. We identify Lippia origanoides as the most reported native plant in scientific literature in Colombia. Using this plant as case study, we provide an overview of the knowledge base of L. origanoides in relation to the VC. Our results indicate that most publications focus on product development, suggesting a lack of comprehensive coverage of the VC and potentially neglected aspects. Based on this, we describe the current and desired scenario of L. origanoides VCs, as well as needs and opportunities for their sustainable implementation in Colombia. This contributes to build research and development roadmaps of sustainable NIVCs from plant diversity supported by multi-stakeholder collaboration.