Pharmaceuticals to Nutraceuticals

A Shift in Disease Prevention

Dilip Ghosh, R. B. Smarta

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9780367846886
• eBook ISBN: 9781315354934
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Alternative & Complementary Medicine

Recently, there has been a fundamental shift in the global health and wellness industry from disease treatment to preventing chronic diseases. The use of nutraceuticals and functional foods in prevention efforts could lead to a decreased dependency on drugs. The pharmaceutical industry recognizes this shift; however, serious concerns have arisen regarding the claimed efficacy, quality, and safety of products used as medical foods.

This book examines the consumer and industry mindshift, including the scientific evidence of these foods as effective adjuncts to pharmacotherapy during all stages of treatment of various diseases, thus indicating that pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals can and should coexist. It details quality, safety, and efficacy of foods, drugs, and nutrients; marketing and product positioning; regulatory perspectives; biomarkers and metabolites; probiotics; food/drug interactions; and future industry trends. In addition, food bioactives represent diet-based molecules that perform physiological roles related to disease prevention and treatment. As such, a considerable overlap exists between food bioactives and drugs—this book presents the case for comparing and contrasting foods versus drugs in several models of health and disease.

Section VII

Future Trends

17	The Role of Food Bioactives in Disease Prevention R. B. Smarta

CONTENTS

Introduction

The Physiological Role of Bioactives

Bioactives versus Nutrients

Bioactive Nutrients

Classification of Bioactives

Classification Based on Their Source

Plant and Food Bioactives

Animal Bioactives

Classification on the Basis of Solubility (Water and Fats)

Mechanisms of Action of Bioactive Compounds

The Role of Bioactives in Disease Prevention

Polyphenols

Effect on CVD

Anticancer Effect

Antidiabetic Effect

Carotenoids

Decreased Risk of Cancer

Effect on Cardiovascular Diseases

Effect on Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Bioactive Peptides

Anticancer Properties

Regulation of the Immune System

Glucosinolates

Effect on Cancer

Bioactives and Bioavailability

Current Activities in the Area of Bioavailability

Innovations in Delivery Systems

Microencapsulation

Nanotechnology

Microemulsions

Computational Fluid Dynamics

Bioactive Ingredients Market

Conclusion

References

INTRODUCTION

As per the ancient Chinese saying, “Medicine and food have a common origin,” over the years scientific advances have made the link between nutrition and health evident. The ability of foods and their components to enhance the overall quality of life has been known to mankind for ages.

“Bioactive compounds,” usually referred to as “bioactives,” are extranutritional constituents that typically occur in small quantities in foods. In plants the bioactive compounds are mainly secondary metabolites. Bioactive compounds in plants can have pharmacological or toxicological effects in humans and animals. Thus, one of the definitions of bioactive compounds in plants is that they are secondary plant metabolites eliciting pharmacological or toxicological effects in humans and animals.

THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLE OF BIOACTIVES

Bioactive compounds present in foods, plants, and animals have a physiological function in humans. These physiological functions may vary from promotion of health to modification of risk of disease or disease prevention. They may influence physiological or cellular activities, usually resulting in a beneficial health effect.

Bioactive compounds may help promote optimal health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, coronary heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Bioactive compounds vary widely in chemical structure and function and are grouped accordingly. These compounds may act as inducers or inhibitors of enzymes, inhibitors or inducers of receptor activity, inhibitors of gene expression, and so on. These compounds can mimic an adaptive stress response in animals and humans. Bioactives have always been widely studied to evaluate their effects on health. Many bioactive compounds have been discovered so far and more and more new studies on bioactives from foods are being conducted.

BIOACTIVES VERSUS NUTRIENTS

Bioactives are not nutrients in the classical sense, as they are not essential for life, which is a fundamental criterion for a nutrient, but emerging research suggests that they are essential for good health. Bioactives can be considered as the Mother Nature’s pharmacy, making ordinary foods become natural nutraceuticals. They are potent and have good efficacy, even in very small quantities. Bioactive compounds are much safer, because, unlike pharmaceuticals, they are developed to be used by our bodies. More precisely, in the right dosages, bioactives interact directly with the master health regulators that control our genes.

The new knowledge and deeper understanding of bioactives, together with advances in the field of gene-based nutrition, will revolutionize how we think about food and medicine. With knowledge of bioactives, we are one step closer to understanding how the foods that we eat, and those which we avoid, can help in treating and preventing many of the chronic diseases affecting humankind.

BIOACTIVE NUTRIENTS

Several epidemiological studies throughout the years have suggested that diets rich in fruits and vegetables promote health and reduce the risk of diseases.

CLASSIFICATION OF BIOACTIVES

CLASSIFICATION BASED ON THEIR SOURCE

1. Plant and food bioactives

2. Animal bioactives

The majority of the bioactive food compounds responsible for the positive effects on well-being are predominantly derived from the plant kingdom, while a few are derived from animal sources.

Within these major groups of bioactives exist a number of subclasses as well.

Plant and Food Bioactives

Plant Bioactives

Bioactive compounds in plants are the secondary metabolites produced within in addition to the primary metabolic and biosynthetic compounds produced for the plants’ growth and development. Plant bioactives are by-products of the usual biochemical interactions in plants. These bioactives are usually not needed for the plant’s normal growth and development, but some bioactives play an important role in the protection of the plant from predators, whereas some are harmful/poisonous to small animals and insects.

While some bioactives may be harmful to animals, many are extremely useful and beneficial to humans in disease prevention.

Some of the plant bioactive groups include:

• Saponins: Saponins are glycosidic, soap-forming compounds. The emulsifying property of saponins can be attributed to the presence of a hydrophilic glycone and a hydrophobic aglycone. Saponins are phytochemicals that are found in most vegetables, beans, and herbs. Commercial saponins are extracted mainly from Yucca schidigera and Quillaja saponaria. Saponins show immune-modulating and antitumor effects; they also help in reducing blood cholesterol by binding to cholesterol and bile salts, thus preventing its reabsorption.

• Polyphenols: Polyphenols are secondary metabolites of plants and are generally involved in defense against ultraviolet radiation or aggression by pathogens (Pandey and Rizvi, 2009). The phenolic groups in polyphenols can accept an electron to form relatively stable phenoxyl radicals, thereby disrupting chain oxidation reactions in cellular components. It is well established that polyphenol-rich foods and beverages may increase plasma antioxidant capacity. This increase in the antioxidative capacity of plasma following the consumption of polyphenol-rich food may be explained either by the presence of reducing polyphenols and their metabolites in plasma, by their effects upon concentrations of other reducing agents (sparing effects of polyphenols on other endogenous antioxidants), or by their effect on the absorption of prooxidative food components, such as iron. The consumption of antioxidants has been associated with reduced levels of oxidative damage to lymphocytic DNA. Similar observations have been made with polyphenolrich food and beverages, indicating the protective effects of polyphenols (Vitrac et al., 2002). There is increasing evidence that as antioxidants, polyphenols may protect cell constituents against oxidative damage and, therefore, limit the risk of various degenerative diseases associated with oxidative stress such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

• Tannins: Tannins are naturally occurring plant polyphenols and are secondary metabolites produced by plants. They are of two types, namely, hydrolyzable tannins and condensed tannins. Their main characteristic is that they bind and precipitate proteins. They may have a huge impact on the nutritive value of many foods eaten by humans and feedstuff eaten by animals. Tannins are common in fruits (grapes, persimmon, blueberry, etc.), tea, chocolate, fruit dish, legume forages (clover, trefoil, alfalfa, etc.), legume trees (Acacia spp., Sesbania spp., etc.), and grasses (sorghum, corn, etc.).

• Alkaloids: Alkaloids are heterocyclic, nitrogen-containing compounds. They have limited distribution across the plant kingdom. They are produced by a large variety of organisms, including bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals. Some alkaloids are toxic, while many have pharmacological effects and are used as medicines, recreational drugs, and so on.

Alkaloids may be used as local anesthetic; as stimulant such as cocaine, caffeine, and nicotine; as analgesic (morphine); as antibacterial, anticancer (vincristine), and antihypertension agents (reserpine); as cholinomimetic galantamine; vasodilator agents (vincamine); as antiasthma therapeutic (ephedrine); as antimalarial drug (quinine); and others.

• Carotenoids: The chloroplasts and chromoplasts of plants and some photosynthetic organisms like certain bacteria and fungi contain carotenoids. Carotenoids can be produced from fats and other basic organic metabolic building blocks by all these organisms. Animals and humans cannot synthesize carotenoids, so they have to obtain these from their diet.

• Plant sterols: Phytosterols, which encompass plant sterol...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Authors
• Contributor
• Introduction
• SECTION I Introduction
• SECTION II Quality–Safety–Efficacy: Three Mantras
• SECTION III Marketing and Product Positioning
• SECTION IV Regulatory Perspective
• SECTION V Underpinning Science
• SECTION VI New Journeys through Categorization
• SECTION VII Future Trends
• Index