Functional Foods, Nutraceuticals and Probiotics as Functional Food Components
Book Chapter
Noomhorm, A, Anal, AK, Ahmad, I. (2014). Functional Foods, Nutraceuticals and Probiotics as Functional Food Components
. 9781118227879 1-19. 10.1002/9781118227800.ch1
Noomhorm, A, Anal, AK, Ahmad, I. (2014). Functional Foods, Nutraceuticals and Probiotics as Functional Food Components
. 9781118227879 1-19. 10.1002/9781118227800.ch1
Functional foods fall into two broad categories: plant origin and animal origin. A review conducted in 1992 proves that plant-based foods have some components that act against lethal diseases, such as cancer. A vast number of components, such as fish oil and dairy products naturally present in animal sources are potentially beneficial to health. Nutraceuticals deliver a concentrated form of a biologically active component from a food to enhance health in dosages that exceed those that could be obtained from regular food. The use of probiotics in combination with prebiotic has been very effective against several chronic diseases. Probiotics and prebiotics provide an alternate source for the management of different intestinal disorders. The major contributions associated with the work of probiotics on human health are proper colonic function and increased metabolism. Research indicates that there is an estimated global market for functional foods of US$33 billion.
