Nutraceuticals

Question 1

What are Nutraceuticals?

what is the difference between it and functional food?

Answer 1

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.

Question 2

Facts about Marketing of Nutraceuticals

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

State the factors that have contributed and continue to contribute to the increasing demand for nutraceuticals:

6

Answer 3

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

Question 4

State the reasons why consumers want to take nutraceutical supplements

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

State the formulations of nutraceuticals available

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

State the variety of Nutraceuticals available

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

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 ____________, is obtained by means of _____________. Some, such as coenzyme Q10, are obtained from ____________. Some nutraceuticals are complex mixtures e.g. _________, _________ and ____________.

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

An example of a nutraceutical useful for diseases of painful joints obtained by means of chemical synthesis is called?

Answer 8

Methylsulfonylmethane

Question 9

An example of Nutraceutical obtained from fermentation processes is called?

Answer 9

coenzyme Q10, is obtained from fermentation processes

Question 10

List examples of Some nutraceuticals that are complex mixtures

Answer 10

soya isoflavones, green tea, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Question 11

Where the origin of nutraceuticals is from synthesis, there needs to be care with production of isomeric forms. true or false and why?

Answer 11

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

Question 12

State the source of Resveratrol

5

Answer 12

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).

Question 13

Products of grapes, such as red wine and grape juice contain……..

Answer 13

resveratrol (and flavonoids) and it can also be produced synthetically.

Question 14

Resveratrol is a stilbene derivative made up of what type of compound?

Answer 14

Polyphenolic compound

Question 15

Resveratrol can occur as ……..

Answer 15

Glycoside

Question 16

Resveratrol-3-O-beta-glucoside is called……

Answer 16

Piceid

Question 17

Facts about Resveratrol

Answer 17

Its presence was first identified in red wine in 1992 after remarks relating to the “French Paradox” (diet is rich in saturated fat and cigarette smoking, but death from coronary heart disease relatively low.)
However, the contribution resveratrol makes for this protective role is not very clear, but it has been shown in vitro to inhibit the growth of cancer cells in some animal models, and to extend lifespan of yeast, worms, fruit flies, fish, and mice fed a high-calorie diet. The proof of similar effects in humans is not available presently.

Question 18

Pharmacokinetics of Resveratrol

taken?
metabolism?
plasma concentrations?

Answer 18

Resveratrol is readily absorbed when taken orally, but is metabolized fairly quickly. Plasma concentrations normally peak after an hour.

Question 19

Biological activities are associated with resveratrol

Answer 19

Being phenolic, it is expected to have antioxidant properties, useful for scavenging free radicals. Its shape and size, along with the phenolic group is likely to allow it to interact with estrogen receptors. The effect will be weak, and it could act as an agonist or an antagonist.

Question 20

Resveratrol and cancer

Resveratrol has been found to inhibit proliferation by inducing cell cycle ________ and then induce ________ in a number of ___________ lines. It has also been shown to minimize _________ generated by chemotherapeutic drugs. More recently, resveratrol has been revealed to have potential to be a chemo sensitizer for ____________ and thus requiring 2.5 times less dose of doxorubicin. In vitro it inhibit _______________, which cancer cells seem to promote.

Answer 20

Resveratrol has been found to inhibit proliferation by inducing cell cycle arrest and then induce apoptosis in a number of cancer cell lines. It has also been shown to minimize cellular toxicity generated by chemotherapeutic drugs. More recently, resveratrol has been revealed to have potential to be a chemo sensitizer for doxorubicin and thus requiring 2.5 times less dose of doxorubicin. In vitro it inhibit angiogenesis, which cancer cells seem to promote.

Question 21

Inflammation is associated with……..

3

Answer 21

cell production, angiogenesis, and inhibition of apoptosis

Question 22

Resveratrol has been shown in vitro to …..

part 3

Answer 22

Resveratrol has been shown in vitro to inhibit cyclo- and lipo-oxygenases.

Question 23

Atherosclerosis is associated with…..

Answer 23

Atherosclerosis is associated with inflammation which leads to myocardial infarction.

Question 24

In cultured endothelial cells, resveratrol inhibits the oxidation of…….

Answer 24

of LDL and stimulates formation of nitric oxide (important for arterial relaxation).

Question 25

In vitro studies have shown resveratrol inhibits……

part 2

Answer 25

inhibits platelet aggregation, which if not controlled can lead to myocardial infarction or stroke

Question 26

Facts about Catechins (green, black, and [oolong] teas)

Tea is widely consumed and often broadly described as green and black teas. The latter involves fermentation in its production which results in oxidation of many of the ________. Besides ______ and ________ (alkaloids), they also contain a group of compounds called catechins.

Answer 26

Tea is widely consumed and often broadly described as green and black teas. The latter involves fermentation in its production which results in oxidation of many of the polyphenols. Besides caffeine and theophylline (alkaloids), they also contain a group of compounds called catechins.

Question 27

What are Catechins?

Catechins are flavonoid derivatives and hence have _________. They are the main compounds of interest occurring in _____. There are four closely related isomers of which (—) __________ (EGCG) is the most abundant

Answer 27

Catechins are flavonoid derivatives and hence have phenolic groups. They are the main compounds of interest occurring in teas. There are four closely related isomers of which (—) epigallicatechin gallate (EGCG) is the most abundant

Question 28

What percentage of catechins is composed in green tea?

Answer 28

For dry weight of green tea, 30-42% is composed of catechins

Question 29

What percentage of Catechins is composed in black tea?

Answer 29

While for dry black tea this is only 3-10%.

Question 30

Green and black tea contains what?

Answer 30

Both teas also contain caffeine and related structures

Question 31

How is a green tea produced?

Production of green tea involves steaming and heating the leaves of ___________ which inactivates the ___________ and thus prevents the degradation of _________.

Answer 31

Production of green tea involves steaming and heating the leaves of Camellia sinensis which inactivates the enzyme polyphenol oxidase and thus prevents the degradation of catechins

Question 32

How black tea is synthesized?

Answer 32

black tea leaves are dried naturally before being crushed which enables polyphenol oxidase to oxidize the catechins

Question 33

The ___________ of the catechins reduces their bioavailability. True/False

Answer 33

The high polarity of the catechins reduces their bioavailability.