Nutraceuticals Flashcards
What are Nutraceuticals?
Food, or parts of food, that provide medical or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease
Nutraceuticals are dietary supplements that have a bioactive agent, which may have been isolated or presented in a concentrated form, and which may provide health improvement or enhancement.
A phrase that is often linked and confused with nutraceuticals is ‘functional food’. With the latter, the food will have a compound that has a specific medical or health benefit.
Facts about Marketing of Nutraceuticals
Marketing of nutraceuticals cannot include medical claims since medicines require a medicine license that can be very expensive and will involve extensive research and time for data to be generated for making the claim. So, many promoters of nutraceuticals prefer to advance their product as a dietary supplement since marketing a nutraceutical involves a fraction of the time and is considerably cheaper.
State the factors that have contributed and continue to contribute to the increasing demand for nutraceuticals:
Changes in population demography with % of over 60’s said to increase by 2020.
Reports of scientific studies on both nutraceuticals and functional foods.
Better education and availability/awareness of information. Better understanding of the concepts that promote healthy living and increased availability of health care Better regulation of food and its sources. Availability and accessibility of healthy foods, including in developing countries
State the reasons why consumers want to take nutraceutical supplements
just to improve general health,
delay onset of age-related health problems,
recovery after illness, overcome stress,
maybe recommended by a health professional,
support for conditions such as pregnancy, and slimming, and improving sports performance.
State the formulations of nutraceuticals available
tablets, capsules, and soft gels.
However, it is interesting to note that suppliers of nutraceuticals are not just improving their product information, but some are promoting their products in formulations that are often associated with medicines e.g. soft chewable, controlled release, oral disintegrating tablets, and oral strip films.
State the variety of Nutraceuticals available
melatonin, coenzyme Q10, lycopene, carnitine, lutein, resveratrol, γ-linolenic acid, omega-3 fatty acids, flax seeds, soya isoflavones, tea (green and black), glucosamine, and chondroitin.
Nutraceuticals are obtained from?
Most of the nutraceuticals are of either plant or animal origin (e.g. cartinine) and hence can be regarded as natural products.
Only those which are present in the natural source in sufficient quantities and are commercially viable are extracted from these. Methylsulfonylmethane, useful for diseases of painful joints, is obtained by means of chemical synthesis. Some, such as coenzyme Q10, are obtained from fermentation processes. Some nutraceuticals are complex mixtures e.g. soya isoflavones, green tea and omega-3 fatty acids.
Nutraceuticals are obtained from?
Most of the nutraceuticals are of either plant or animal origin (e.g. cartinine) and hence can be regarded as natural products.
synthesis
fermentation process
Only those which are present in the natural source in sufficient quantities and are commercially viable are extracted from these.
An example of a nutraceutical useful for diseases of painful joints obtained by means of chemical synthesis is called?
Methylsulfonylmethane
An example of Nutraceutical obtained from fermentation processes is called?
coenzyme Q10, is obtained from fermentation processes
List examples of Some nutraceuticals that are complex mixtures
soya isoflavones, green tea, and omega-3 fatty acids.
Where the origin of nutraceuticals is from synthesis, there needs to be care with production of isomeric forms. true or false and why?
true because some of the isomers can be toxic
for example , D-form of carnitine is toxic and the L-form can be preferentially prepared by means of chiral synthesis
State the source of Resveratrol
Resveratrol occurs in the skin of red grapes (Vitis vinifera), peanuts, berries such as blueberries and cranberries, and the roots of Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum).
Products of grapes, such as red wine and grape juice contain……..
resveratrol (and flavonoids) and it can also be produced synthetically.
Resveratrol is a stilbene derivative made up of what type of compound?
Polyphenolic compound
