The market size of L-leucine (L-leucine) continues to grow, and standardization is the main direction of industry development.

​​​​ L-leucine, also known as L-leucine and 2-amino-4-methylpentanoic acid, has a chemical formula of C6H13NO2 and is an organic compound. L-leucine appears as white crystals or crystalline powder, has no special odor, is soluble in formic acid, slightly soluble in ethanol, and insoluble in ether. L-leucine is a branched-chain amino acid and is widely used in agriculture, medicine, health products and other fields.

The preparation methods of L-leucine include fermentation, hydrolysis, enzyme catalysis, synthesis, etc. The fermentation method refers to using α-ketoisocaproic acid as the raw material, fermenting it with Corynebacterium glutamicum, and finally producing the finished product. This method has a higher yield of finished product; the hydrolysis method and the synthetic method are less difficult to produce, but there is a problem in the yield of the finished product. It has low efficiency, many by-products, and easily causes environmental pollution, and has been eliminated by the market. The enzyme catalysis method is an emerging preparation method for L-leucine, but its production cost is high and large-scale production has not yet been achieved.

In recent years, in order to regulate the development of the L-leucine industry, relevant departments in my country have formulated and issued a number of industry standards. On February 1, 2022, the industry standard “QB/T 5633.1-2021 Amino acids, amino acid salts and analogs – Part 1: Branched-chain amino acids (L-leucine, L-isoleucine, L-Valine)” was officially implemented, clearly stipulating the production, inspection and other contents of food-grade L-leucine. In April of the same year, the industry standard “Biochemical Reagent L-Leucine (L-Leucine)” was officially implemented, and the document clearly stipulated the inspection rules for L-leucine.

L-leucine is widely used in agriculture, medicine, health products and other fields. The pharmaceutical field is the largest demand end, accounting for nearly 50%. L-leucine has the functions of improving immunity, repairing muscles, controlling blood sugar, supplementing nutrition, regulating protein metabolism, etc. It can be used as raw material for the production of complex amino acid intravenous injection preparations, compound leucine granules and other drugs. According to the “2023-2028 China L-Leucine (L-Leucine) Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report” shows that with the accelerated development of downstream industries, my country’s L-leucine market continues to grow, reaching 790 million yuan in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 6.8%.

​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​OUT out of my country? Wuxi Jinghai focuses on the research and development, production and sales of amino acid APIs. According to its corporate annual report, the company’s leucine business revenue will reach 53.573 million yuan in 2022, accounting for 13.8% of total revenue.

          Industry analysts said that L-leucine, as an isomer of leucine, is in high demand in the pharmaceutical field. In recent years, with in-depth research and technological advancement, the development speed of my country’s L-leucine industry has accelerated, and its production capacity and output have increased. In terms of market competition, Chinese pharmaceutical companies occupy a dominant position in the L-leucine market. It is expected that companies with large-scale production capabilities of high-end pharmaceutical grade L-leucine will occupy a larger share of the market in the future.