Gooey fluid turned into $1.68b liquid gold for Jinan

A technician observes the development of experimental strains in a lab at the R&D center of Bloomage in Jinan. Provided to China Daily

Scientific advances

Scientists started manufacturing hyaluronic acid products in the 1970s after they realized it could be extracted from rooster combs — the fleshy, red, crown on the bird's head. However, this method not only faced challenges in collecting enough rooster combs, but was hampered by low extraction rates and high impurity levels.

Also, few people could afford products that used HA as it was more expensive than gold. It requires 200 kilograms of combs, from approximately 20,000 roosters, to extract 1 kg of hyaluronic acid.

Although starting late, the research and development of the industry in China progressed rapidly.

In the early 1980s, scientists in Jinan successfully extracted the substance from human umbilical cords and rooster combs, marking the first step in China's research on hyaluronic acid. In 1985, scientists in Jinan produced the country's first HA injection for ophthalmic surgery.

In the 1990s, Jinan scientists pioneered a microbial fermentation process to produce hyaluronic acid, which significantly advanced the industry in the city. The breakthrough also brought down the price of hyaluronic acid substantially, making it more available to the general public.