Advantages And Importance Of Nutraceuticals

In 2000, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a health claim which states that consuming foods containing plant sterol and stanol esters along with other low cholesterol and saturated fat foods can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (Jones, Vanstone, Raeini-Sarjaz, & St-Onge, 2003). Today, many functional foods in the form of margarines, spread, yogurt, and others, have been enriched with phytosterols and advocated as being able to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Phytosterols have been known for its cholesterol-lowering effect by blocking absorption of cholesterol in the intestines. However, there are controversies surrounding the efficacy of phytosetrol that are enriched in foods in reducing cholesterol levels. Many studies have also demonstrated the efficacy of phytosterol-enriched foods. Vásquez-Trespalacios and Romero-Palacio (2014) and Amundsen, Ose, Nenseter, and Ntanios (2002) have demonstrated the efficacy of phytosterol-enriched foods in reducing total and LDL-cholesterol levels. However, there are also many studies that show otherwise. For example, Jones et al. (2003) and Weingärtner et al. (2016) have shown that phytosterol-supplemented foods did not have any effect on total and LDL-cholesterol levels. The debate regarding the efficacy of phytosterol in functional foods is crucial as phytosterol-enriched foods can potentially be a solution to a continuous increase in population suffering from cardiovascular diseases. The

Recent studies in animals and in humans have shown that increased intake of polyphenols may:

The use of natural products as medicine has initiated the isolation of active compounds. The first commercial pure natural product introduced for therapeutic use is generally considered to be

As a society knowledge in the nutritional capacity of our food is becoming an increasing factor. The world has begun to place more importance on producing and manufacturing quality food with nutritional ingredients. Research has begun to reveal certain components of food

vulgare shown to have significant antibacterial activity in vitro as compared to some standard antibiotics[53]. Butanol and aqueous fractions of F. vulgare fruit showed intermediate free radical scavenging activity in vitro[54]. A group of rat pretreated with aqueous extract of F. vul-gare shown to have suppressed ethanol-induced gastric lesions. Also, this extract significantly reduced lipid peroxidation and increased antioxidant activity[70]. Administration of methanolic extract of F. vulgare fruit orally to mice has been shown to suppress Type 4 allergic reactions as well as acute and subacute inflammatory responses and also shown moderate centeral analgesic effect. In addition, it significantly enhance plasma antioxidant status while suppressing lipid peroxidation chain

In addition to several antioxidant compounds that mop up free radicals themselves, mustard contains compounds that enhance the activity of both ingested and internally produced antioxidants. Sulforaphane for example, although not an antioxidant itself, is an effective inducer of internally produced antioxidant enzymes. These, in turn, enhance the activity of the crucial intracellular antioxidant, glutathione and also catalyze production of another of the body's powerful antioxidants,

One of the reasons why fruit juice is chosen to be the new product is the threat from the natural food trend. People are learning what is better for them and start preferring natural foods rather than nutritional supplements. They consider absorbing nutrients from natural foods is better or enough for them. Moreover, consumers are using beverages and food to manage health issues today. For example, many consumers are seeking foods like whole grains and avoiding trans fat and cholesterol to manage diabetes (Hartman Group 2015). The trend of inclining natural food has threatened the whole vitamins and supplements industry. The general public may not fully understand nutritional supplements as the company does. Medically, nutritional supplements

The ancient Greek people believe in raw and naturally grown food, today most of the food we eat is either processed or chemically grown to satisfy the needs and population of the people- “I will use those dietary regimens which will benefit my patients”. Recently, physicians have begun to suggest good

Polyphenols, like ellagic acid and resveratrol are found in citrus, teas, berries, whole grains, and peanuts. It is thought that they can help to prevent cancer and inflammation. They are also powerful antioxidants. Bioavailability is low due to rapid break down, especially for resveratrol (Abourashed, 2013). It has been shown that polyphenols inhibit cancer cell growth in animal models, and increase the lifespan of fish and mice. Resveratrol supplements also improve glucose/lipid metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes. Polyphenols also reduce oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction through their antioxidant activities, which will be discussed more in depth later in this paper (Higdon, 2005).

Antioxidants are molecules capable of either delay or prevent the oxidation of other molecules. They terminate oxidative chain reactions by removing radical intermediates and inhibiting other oxidation reactions. Consequently, antioxidants are often reducing agents such as thiols or polyphenols (Hamid et al., 2010). The antioxidant defense systems are capable of blocking the initial production of free radicals, scavenging the oxidants and converting the oxidants to less toxic compounds. It also functions through blocking the secondary production of toxic metabolites, blocking the chain propagation of the secondary oxidants and repairing the molecular injury induced by free radicals (Kabel, 2014). The antioxidant defense system consists of powerful enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants (Halliwell, 2007). The antioxidants are either endogenous or exogenous in origin (Fig. 8).

Black Cohosh is a herb that you may not hear all that much about, but it is re-

Human Cancer is a dreadful human disease and it is increasing with changing life style, bad nutrition, and global warming. Cancer treatments do not have powerful medicine and the currently available drugs causing side effects. In this context, medicinal plants source the natural products derived have significance in the treatment of cancer. WHO, estimated 80% of the world’s population primarily those of developing countries rely on plant-derived medicines for the health care

Ginger is known to have inflammatory properties and helps in quelling the feeling of nausea and vomiting which is the common side effects

Another study that was performed examined different prickly pear juices to examine potential antioxidant effects. The juices picked were the most frequently consumed varieties: red-purple, white-green, and yellow-orange. Methods used determined in vitro effects which only give a rough estimate of in vivo effects, but it was determined that the compounds and how they interact give a better idea of how much of an antioxidant the fruit is overall. In this study the researchers treated mice with a chemical that caused oxidative stress, and given prickly pear juice in order to counteract the effects of the oxidative stress. Blood analysis was used in order to examine the amount of protection the prickly pear juice had given to the mice. The results determined that the red-purple colored juice was a better antioxidant than the white-green and yellow-orange varieties indicating that the antioxidant properties may be due to the polyphenols the juices contain since the red-purple variety is

Herbal medicines are great alternative for commercially manufactured medicines available in the market. The major reason why herbal medicine differ from modern medicine is because they are produced with 100% natural content. Therefore the plant extract has all the medicinal values that are as effective as modern medicine. Commercially prepared drugs show results quickly but have numerous side effects. However herbal medicines don’t show any side