Further Discussion
Nowadays, nutraceuticals have received high interests due to their potential nutritional and safety profile, other than therapeutic capability. Pharmaceutical and nutritional companies are aware of the changing trends which are due to the advantages of these compounds. Most of the nutraceuticals possess multiple therapeutic benefits. The present study devoted towards a better understanding of the nutraceuticals based on their pharmaceutical and therapeutic indications.
It should be noted that there might be a lot of confusion related to the terminology of nutraceuticals such as phytochemicals, pharmafoods, medical foods, functional foods, dietary supplements, designer foods, etc. There is a thin dividing line in their interchangeable usage by different people on different occasions. Pharmaceuticals are mostly considered as medications which are used mainly to treat diseases; however nutraceuticals are the substances which are mostly considered to prevent diseases. This distinction between pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals is very erroneous and superficial. Pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals both can cure and prevent disease(s) however, only pharmaceuticals have governmental sanction. Pharmaceuticals are compounds which usually possess patent protection due to expensive testing. However, nutraceuticals do not need these testing documents.
Medical foods or medicinal foods are a specific category of therapeutic agents that are considered for the nutritional management of a specific disease. For example, medicinal foods are designed to manage inflammatory conditions, cancer, hyperhomocysteinemia, pancreatic exocrine insufficiency and other diseases. They also play a substantial protection against numerous age-related or chronic diseases. Herbal medicines that are used as a nutrient are considered in this category.
Nutraceuticals found in many fruits and vegetables are responsible for health benefits. Due to these health benefits of nutraceuticals, they might regularly be taken to cure or reduce the risk factors such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. Some of the most popular nutraceutical products marketed today are botanicals such as ginseng, ginkgo biloba, St. John’s wort and Echinacea.
The list of nutraceuticals being studied is changing continually and reflects ongoing market developments, research, and consumer interest. With rapidly increasing interest in nutraceutical consumption, substantial researches are absolutely necessary to warrant the nutraceuticals usage safe and effective.
The mechanistic actions of nutraceuticals are not fully clear. However, they might be involved in a wide variety of biological processes, including activation of signal transduction pathways, antioxidant defenses, gene expression, cell proliferation, differentiation and preservation of mitochondrial integrity.