Nutraceuticals

Nutraceuticals

Definition:
• Food, or parts of a food, that provide medical or health
benefits, including the prevention and treatment of
disease
• Nutraceuticals are rarely legally classed as medicines,
but instances exist in certain countries for particular
entities, for example coenzyme Q10 in Japan and
melatonin in the UK
• This consequent lack of regulation for most nutraceuticals
has resulted in a number of poor quality products being
available on the market
There are a number of sources of nutraceuticals,
including;
• Basic human and mammalian metabolites
• Dietary components of plant and animal origin
• Synthetic constituents and plant secondary metabolites
• Also produced by microbial fermentation
Arguably the greatest number are derived from plants and
are used as; • Single purified components, such as
resveratrol • Purified multi-component products, such as
pycnogenol • Whole plant foods, such as flaxseed
Therapeutic applications
• The range of therapeutic applications is wide, encompassing
many areas in which conventional pharmaceuticals treat only the
symptoms of the disease state
• A number of these nutraceuticals have been shown to treat the
underlying cause of the illness, e.g. α-linolenic acid
• As a consequence of this, many nutraceutical manufacturers and
pharmaceutical companies are increasingly investigating the
possibility of formulating and marketing plant based nutraceuticals
• Many of the nutraceuticals owe their activities to antioxidant
activity, but this may not be the full story
• It has been claimed that many also have other activities,
including enhancement or inhibition of Phase I and II metabolizing
enzymes, and modulation of DNA repair
Future Markete Trends
• In a wider context, there is a growing demand for plantbased
medicines, health products, pharmaceuticals, food supplements,
cosmetics, etc., in the national and international markets. Global
demand for nutraceuticals ingredients will grow 5.8% annually
through 2010. Best prospects include probiotics, soy additives,
lycopene, lutein, sterolbased additives, green tea, glucosamine,
chondroitin and coenzyme Q10. China and India will be the
fastest growing markets, while the US will remain the largest.
Nutraceuticals is one huge business opportunity awaiting the
Indian pharmaceutical industry in the coming years. At least a
dozen large companies currently produce and market
nutraceuticals today. Many of these are just food supplements
with no specific curative values.
FutureTrends
• Evidences are rapidly emerging that nonnutrient
components in plants foods may play a critical role in the
prevention of chronic diseases.
• New products and ingredients developed as
nutraceuticals or functional foods offer large growth
potential for both the food and pharmaceuticals industry.
• Herbal and nonherbal extract would provide the strongest
growth opportunities in healthcare products.