ABSTRACT
Objective: To implement an evaluation system of functional food crude materials for their ranking to support the registration policy as required by legislation. Methods: Firstly, literature review and expert interview were used to determine the factors and their hierarchical relationships for the construction of the Functional Food Crude Materials Evaluation System (FUFMES). Secondly, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was used to calculate the weights of these factors. The specific method was used to construct a judgment matrix based on expert ratings, and R language was used to conduct consistency test and maximum characteristic root test was performed to obtain the weight of all levels of indicators. Thirdly, the extreme value was calculated for each factor; Fourthly, the index score and the ranking result were generated for each crude material; Lastly, the rankings obtained based on FUFMES were compared with that from the expert panel. Results: A total of 56 factors that were important for the evaluation were identified. These factors were organized in three levels. In particular, 6, 39 and 11 of them came from the first-level, second-level and third-level, respectively. The weights of these factors were determined using the AHP method. Nine crude materials were analyzed using FUFMES to generate the following index scores: Panax quinquefolium (0.49), Panax ginseng (0.48), Ginkgo biloba (0.21), Ganoderma lucidum spore powder (0.08), fish oil (0.06), Spirulina platensis (0.03), Coenzyme Q10 (0.02), melatonin (0.01), garlic oil (-0.03). Comparison of the rankings based on FUFMES index score and those by the experts showed high degree of consistency. Conclusion: FUFMES for integrated evaluation of the functional food crude materials were successfully established. FUFMES will become an invaluable tool for the ranking and evaluation of functional food crude materials catalogue and provide scientific basis and technical guarantee for the promotion of functional food crude materials registration.