Advances in Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods

Concepts and Applications

Sreerag Gopi, Preetha Balakrishnan

• Publisher: Apple Academic Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781774637531
• eBook ISBN: 9781000565676
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Nutrition, Dietics & Bariatrics
• Index: Technology & Engineering

This book examines the rapidly growing field of functional foods in the prevention and management of chronic and infectious diseases. Chapters explore the varied sources, biochemical properties, metabolics, health benefits, and safety of bioactive ingredients of nutraceutical and functional food products. Special emphasis is given to linking the molecular and chemical structures of biologically active components in foods to their nutritional and pharmacological effects on human health and wellness. In addition to discussing scientific and clinical rationales for different sources of functional foods, the book also explains in detail scientific methodologies used to investigate the functionality, effectiveness, and safety of bioactive ingredients in food.

The chapter authors discuss advanced nanocarriers for nutraceuticals based on structured lipids and nonlipids, nanoparticulate approaches for improved nutrient bioavailability, adulteration and safety issues, nanodelivery systems, microencapsulation, and more. The book discusses some particular health benefits from nutrition nutraceuticals, including probiotic dairy and non-dairy products and bioactive proteins and peptides as functional foods. The volume also gives an overview of emerging trends, growth patterns, and new opportunities in the field of nutraceuticals and functional foods.

CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals

LUANA PULVIRENTI¹ and ANGELA PATERNA²

¹Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Catania, Viale Andrea Doria-6, 95125, Catania, Italy

²Institute of Biophysics, National Research Council, Via Ugo La Malfa – 153,90146, Palermo, Italy

ABSTRACT

Nowadays, the term functional food gained more attention, especially by the younger generations, since are certainly more informed about the increasingly close correlation between food and health. This term was first used in Japan in 1980 and since that time it has been possible to record a growing interest from the scientific community around the world, in order to clarify their potential role in the prevention of chronic diseases and in the maintenance of good health of a population with a longer life expectancy than in the past. In this context, this chapter aims to offer a simple and comprehensive overview about definitions and classifications of functional food. Furthermore, attention was focused on the close relationship that exists between the chemical composition of a food in terms of ‘functional’ chemical compounds known today as nutraceuticals, and the ability of the food to play a functional role.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Today, the common thought is that foods together with a good lifestyle may be able to prevent diseases or physiological disorders. This belief is actually much older than might think, and even Hippocrates about 2500 years ago claimed, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” The aforementioned concept is particularly felt mostly by the younger generations, who represent a new class of consumers, of course, more health-conscious than before. More in general people take more into account the strict relationship between diet and health. The reason is that they are more informed about it, thanks also to many scientific and popular magazines, tv programs, social media posts, and blogs which often deal with topics concerning the content of bioactive chemical substances in foods and their potential activity as chemopreventive agents of degenerative diseases. Therefore, these foods defined ‘functional foods’ are considered desirable in a good diet. The term ‘functional foods,’ used for the first time in Japan in 1980 [1, 2], includes every food or food ingredients exerting a nutritional function but at the same time express promising healthy effect when eaten regularly in a varied diet [3]. The above consideration allows to enclose in this group not processed foods such as fruit and vegetable, but also foods formulated with a specific health purpose.

In recent years a renew attention has been registered on functional foods from researchers in the world working in different fields of science due to a growing global interest for these foods. Indeed, the fields of investigation involving functional foods are manifold and often linked together; for example, using on Scopus.com the index term ‘functional food’ about 61.000 documents (articles, chapters, and books) were found, published between 1980 and 2019, with an increasing number of publication year by year, confirming the growing scientific interest. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that analyzing quickly the results of search by subject area, it is possible to observe that this topic involves many scientific fields (Figure 1.1).

Therefore, it is not surprising that the functional foods development has required interconnection with related field like food chemistry, biology, nutrition, pharmacology, and statistics [4].

In this context, important contributions have been made by many epidemiological studies reported in literature with the purpose to evaluate the relationship between diet habits and the risk of contracting a large share of the global diseases, through conditions such as high blood pressure and elevated blood glucose and cholesterol levels. Two famous examples are the Mediterranean-style diet and high-fat diets, also well known as the French paradox, incorporating moderate red wine intake are reported to benefit to human health [5]. In particular French paradox refers to the lower risk of the French people towards cardiovascular diseases (CVD), despite their high fat diet, attributed to their habitual but moderate consumption of red wine. Also, the Mediterranean-style diet, expressed by a reduced drinking of alcohol, a balanced eating of meat and its subproducts, an increased ingestion of fruits, vegetables, and extra-virgin olive oil, is widely recognized to have beneficial effects on CVD.

FIGURE 1.1 Total number of articles (a) by year; and (b) subject area.

Source: Published from: 1980 to 2019 at Scopus.com using the index term ‘functional food.’

Nowadays, is commonly approved that the helpful outcomes of functional foods can be attributed to the chemical substances’ characteristic of their composition, well known with the term ‘nutraceuticals,’ for which it was registered an increased interest corroborated by the growth of the nutraceutical trend aiding the growth of the global market. The global nutraceutical market size was valued to grow from about $209 billion in 2017 to $373 billion in 2025, predicting a spread at a CAG (compound annual growth) rate of 8.3% over the estimated period [6].

The growing scientific interest in the development of functional foods and nutraceuticals also goes hand in hand with the increased life expectancy average at the global level (around 70–80 years), and with the necessity in maintaining a good overall health status in the years. Therefore, both are considered a valid and safe help that together with a healthy lifestyle they can prevent chronic diseases, very frequent in the elderly.

The purpose of this chapter is to offer a comprehensive overview of functional foods and nutraceuticals, briefly mentioning about definitions, classifications, and their potential role in the chemoprevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, CVD, and cancer.

1.2 FUNCTIONAL FOODS

1.2.1 CONCEPTUAL DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION

Since 1980, when the term “functional food” was used for the first time [1, 2], inaugurating a new sector of food sciences around the world, researchers, government agencies, and national and international organizations have tried to formulate their own definition. This circumstance certainly created little clarity and many opportunities to generate confusion due to the large number of definitions and their large variations of meaning that make it difficult to provide industry partners with solid information on market trends and potential or adequately protect consumers through legislation.

In this context, the lack of an official or commonly accepted formal meaning for functional foods has promoted the opportunity of an international debate involving many researchers. Scientists have accepted the challenge of trying to make a concise analysis of all the definitions in the literature, trying to clarify at least a conceptual level of which type of food should be considered “functional” and which scientific requirements should support them.

The monograph of International Life Sciences Institutes [7], and the work done by Doyon and Labrecqueri [8], respectively, were really important in the formulation of the conceptual meaning of functional foods, and have allowed to summarize the most important phases of their development. Table 1.1 offers only a quick overview of the most important definitions found in literature for “functional food” formulated over the past 30 years from different countries and health institutions. Therefore, it is not surprising that there is ambiguity among the highest government offices, public health professionals, and of course the population.

Furthermore, it is noteworthy to highlight that currently, Japan is the unique country that has defined a precise regulatory recommendation for functional foods practices well known with the acronym FOSHU (foods for specified health use) [9], while in the rest of the world the boundary between conventional and functional foods remains undeciphered and make trouble also experts such as nutritionists and health experts. It is obvious to think that the lack of specific legislative regulation was, on the one hand, a limitation for the definition of coherent guidelines to be followed in their development and, on the other hand, did not allow the release of health claims that were regulated.

TABLE 1.1 Various Definitions of Functional Foods

Year	Definition of Functional Food	Source/Reference(s)
1991	‘Foods which are, based on the knowledge between foods or food components and health, expected to have certain health benefits, and have been licensed to bear a label claiming that a person using them for specified health use may expect to obtain the health use through the consumption thereof.’	FOSHU, Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare
1994	‘Foods that encompass potentially healthful products, including any modified food or food ingredient that may provide a health benefit beyond that of the traditional nutrients it contains.’	National Academy of Sciences Food and Nutrition Board
1999	‘Food which could be regarded as ‘functional’ as being one that has been satisfactorily demonstrated to beneficially affect one or more functions in the body, beyond adequate nutritional effects, in a way which is relevant to either an improved state of health and well-being and/or a reduction of risk. It is consumed as part of a normal food pattern. It is not a pill, a capsule or a...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• About the Editors
• Table of Contents
• Contributors
• Abbreviations
• Preface
• 1. Introduction to Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals
• 2. Advanced Nanocarriers for Nutraceuticals Based on Structured Lipid and Nonlipid
• 3. Nanoparticulate Approaches for Improved Nutrient Bioavailability
• 4. Adulteration and Safety Issues in Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods
• 5. Nutraceuticals-Loaded Nano-Sized Delivery Systems: Potential Use in the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer
• 6. Nutrition Nutraceuticals: A Proactive Approach for Healthcare
• 7. Bioactive Proteins and Peptides as Functional Foods
• 8. News and Trends in the Development of Functional Foods: Probiotic Dairy and Non-Dairy Products
• 9. Microencapsulation: An Alternative for the Application of Probiotic Cells in the Food and Nutraceuticals Industries
• 10. Nutraceuticals-Based Nano-Formulations: An Overview Through Clinical Validations
• 11. Growth Patterns, Emerging Opportunities, and Future Trends in Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods
• Index