Para-hydroxybenzyl alcohol is mainly used in the pharmaceutical field and its application value has not yet been fully developed.

Para-hydroxybenzyl alcohol is an organic compound with the molecular formula C7H8O2, which mainly appears as beige or white powder. Para-hydroxybenzyl alcohol is widely distributed in various plants and is also one of the main components of Gastrodia elata. It has biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cytotoxicity, anti-apoptosis, and anti-nociception. It is often used as an intermediate in organic synthesis. and pharmaceutical intermediates. Para-hydroxybenzyl alcohol has a certain degree of pollution to water bodies, and waste disposal is subject to strict government supervision.

The raw materials for the production of p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol are mainly gastrodia elata and albizzia bark. my country’s Gastrodia elata industry is mature and the yield and quality of Gastrodia elata are guaranteed. The trunk, leaves, flowers, fruits and even bark of the Albizia Julibrissin tree all have use value. The Albizia Julibrissin tree is one of the important economic crops in my country and is widely planted in Northeast, South China, Southwest and other regions of my country. Sufficient raw materials for the production of p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol lay the foundation for the development of the industry.

According to the “2023-2028 China Parahydroxybenzyl Alcohol Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center , p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol has anti-angiogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-nociception biological activities, can inhibit the growth of tumor blood vessels, can be used to treat acute myeloid leukemia, and is a raw material reagent for the synthesis of calicheamicin conjugates. P-hydroxybenzyl alcohol can also participate in the oxidation of phenol catalyzed by polyphenol oxidase to synthesize peptides and be used to prepare antimalarial drugs. However, p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol is highly irritating to the human body, especially the human eye. Currently, p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol is only used for scientific research and production of downstream drugs, and its application value needs to be developed.

At present, the industrial production methods of p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol are mainly divided into organic solvent extraction methods and chemical synthesis methods. The organic solvent extraction method is a traditional production process in the plant extraction industry, which requires the consumption of a large amount of organic solvents, low production efficiency, and high production costs; the chemical synthesis method mainly uses sodium borohydride, potassium borohydride and other reducing reagents to synthesize p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol. During the production process, a large amount of inorganic waste is easily generated, which pollutes the environment, puts environmental pressure on enterprises, and is not conducive to large-scale production.

In 2021, Taizhou Dachen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. issued a patent for the production of p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, which uses p-hydroxybenzaldehyde as the raw material and water as the solvent to perform a potassium borohydride reduction reaction to produce the product. This production method has the advantages of simple operation, mild reaction, high product purity, good production efficiency, easy waste liquid treatment, and high safety. It is an ideal production process for the p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol industry. Industry analysts said that the new production process has not yet been widely used and is expected to become a revolution in the production process of the p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol industry. direction.

There are few p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol companies in my country, mainly concentrated in Hubei Province and Shanghai, including Hubei Qifei Pharmaceutical Chemicals, Hubei Jusheng Technology, Wuhan Xinxinjiali Biotechnology, Hubei Hongfuda, Shanghai Bangcheng Chemical, Shanghai Jingkang Bioengineering, Taizhou Dachen Pharmaceutical, etc.