9 - Intro to NHPs Flashcards
Functional foods
- Similar in appearance to and may be a conventional food
- Demonstrated to have physiological benefits and/or reduce risk of chronic disease beyond basic nutritional functions
What are the major bioactive categories of functional foods?
- Carotenoids
- Fiber
- Fatty acids
- Prebiotics and probiotics
- Antioxidants
- Plant sterols
What are the categories of functional foods?
- Basic (conventional) food
- Processed food w/ added ingredients
- Foods enhanced to have more of a bioactive component (ex: special livestock feeding or genetic modification)
Nutraceutical
- Product isolated or purified from foods
- Generally sold in medicinal forms not usually associated w/ food
- Demonstrated to have physiological benefit or provide protection against chronic disease
- Considered natural health products
How are functional foods regulated?
Under the food section of the food and drug act and regulations
How are natural health products regulated?
- Recognized under subsection of drugs under Food and Drug Act
- Subject to the Natural Health Product Regulations
What does the Natural Health Product Regulations say about NHPs?
- Must be safe to use as OTC products
- Available for self-care
- Available for self-selection
- Don’t require prescription to be sold
What are NHPs made from?
- Plants mostly
- Can be animals, microorganisms, and marine sources
What is included as NHPs?
- Nutraceuticals
- Homeopathic medicines
- Traditional medicines
- Probiotics
- Vitamins and minerals
- Herbal remedies
- Other products (essential fatty acids, amino acids)
Do NHPs have DINs?
No, have NPN (natural product number) or DIN-HM (homeopathic medicine number)
What are some predictors of NHP use?
- Race (Caucasian > non-caucasian)
- Non-smokers > smokers
- Active > non-active lifestyle
- Health statues (non-perfect health > perfect health)
- More health problems (at least 3 > only 1 health problem)
- Use of conventional or OTC medication
- Vitamin, mineral or multivitamin usage
- Consultation w/ CAM practitioner
What are botanicals?
Plant or plant part valued for its medicinal or therapeutic properties, flavor and/or scent
What are herbal medicines?
- Herbs are subsets of botanicals
- Products made from botanicals used to maintain or improve health
- May be called herbal products, botanical products, or phytomedicines
How can herbal medicines be prepared?
- Tea/infusion
- Decoction (simmered longer in boiling water than tea)
- Tincture (botanical soaked in solution of alcohol and water)
- Extract (botanical soaked in liquid/solvent which removes specific types of chemicals)
What are the safety issues w/ herbal medicines?
- Intrinsic adverse effects
- Extrinsic adverse effects
What causes intrinsic adverse effects?
The herb itself
What are the 2 types of intrinsic adverse effects?
- Type A (dose-dependent, predictable)
- Type B (idiosyncratic, not predictable, ex: anaphylaxis)
What causes extrinsic adverse effects?
- Unrelated to the herb
- Likely due to problem in commercial manufacture or extemporaneous compounding
Examples of extrinsic adverse effects
- Misidentification
- Lack of standardization
- Contamination
- Substitution of raw materials
- Adulteration
- Incorrect preparation and/or dosage
- Inappropriate labelling and/or advertising
How should plants be referred to as?
By their binomial Latin names (genus and species)
What are some challenges for standardization?
- No bioassay identified yet
- Active ingredient(s) not identified
- Even if active ingredient is identified, it may not be known if crude herb or purified active ingredient is better
What are probiotics?
Live microorganisms that when ingested in appropriate quantities, have beneficial effect in prevention and tx of specific medical conditions by improving host’s intestinal microbial balance
Aims of probiotics
- Improve gut health (improve “good” bacteria and decrease “bad” bacteria to create a balance)
- Reduce risk of colon cancer (alter metabolic activities of intestinal microflora and bind/degrade potential carcinogens)
- Enhance host’s immune response
What are some probiotics safety concerns?
- Antibiotic resistance gene profile
- Production of antibiotic modifiers
- Pathogenic potential
- Metabolic activities
What is the probiotic dosing for healthy maintenance of intestinal microflora?
- Dependent on extent of microbial depletion and presence of harmful bacteria
- Normally 1 - 2 billion viable organisms per day of L. acidophilus or B. lactis
What is the probiotic dosing for tx of diarrhea?
10 - 100 billion viable organisms per day of L. acidophilus or B. lactis
Can essential fatty acids be synthesized in the body?
No
What are the 2 EFAs?
Linoleic acid (omega 6) and alpha-linelenic acid (omega 3)
Function of EFAs?
- Components of cell membranes that increase membrane fluidity (cell membrane function)
- Brain and nervous system
Function of omega 3?
- Cardiovascular benefits (anti-platelet, anti-inflammatory, pro-vasodilatory)
- Hyperglycemia, depression, cancer, lupus, asthma, RA
What is the ideal ratio for linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid?
LA:ALA of under 5:1
- Western diet can be as high as 30:1
Natural sources of EFAs?
- ALA = flax-based oil, canola oil, flax seeds
- LA = vegetable and plant oils, leafy vegetables, seeds, nuts
What are the 3 branched chain amino acids? What is their importance?
- L-leucine, L-isoleucine, and L-valine
- Most common essential AAs
- Thought to help increase carb bioavailability in muscles and prevent muscle breakdown during rigorous exercise
What are the uses of branched chain amino acids?
Allow proper synthesis of proteins, energy source, preserve/restore muscle mass after surgery/ trauma/ cancer
Sources of essential amino acids?
- Complete protein source, provide all essential AAs (ex: meat, poultry, eggs, fish, milk, quinoa, buckwheat, hempseed, soybean)
- Incomplete protein source (low in one or more essential AAs
- Complementary protein source - 2 or more incomplete protein sources that together provide adequate amounts of essential AAs
