Exploring the Health Benefits of Nutraceuticals

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1.1. Nutraceuticals
Nutraceuticals refer to extracts of foods claimed to have medicinal effect on human health. Nutraceuticals are a large and diverse class of compounds, which occur naturally in plants. Although these compounds are considered non-nutritive, many of them possess antioxidant, anti-oestrogenic, antimutagenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties that might potentially be beneficial in preventing diseases and protecting the stability of the genome. The term ‘nutraceutical’ was coined from ‘nutrition’ and ‘pharmaceutical’ in 1989 by Dr. Stephen DeFelice (source: American Nutraceutical Association). According to DeFelice, a nutraceutical is any substance that is a food or a part of food and provides medical or health benefits, including the prevention and …show more content…

Such products may range from isolated nutrients, dietary supplements and specific diets to genetically engineered designer foods, herbal products, and processed foods such as cereals, soups and beverages. In the United States, the term nutraceutical is commonly used in marketing and has no regulatory definition. One of the most important growing trends in food industry today is the demand for all natural food ingredients free of chemical additives. Increase in health awareness caused major changes in food, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. The nutraceutical market has grown multifold both in developed and developing countries. People are becoming more concerned about their well being and are shifting to nutraceutical products to prevent the onset of any chronic disease like diabetes, heart ailments, hypertension,

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