Nutraceuticals, a comprehensive term, is used to define any product possessing extra nutritional value on human health which is obtained from various food sources. They can be contemplated as non-specific biological therapies employed to encourage general well-being, avert and restrain symptoms and prevent virulent processes.
According to a 2012 market research report, the global nutraceuticals market would attain US$250 billion by 2018, describing that market as “Dietary Supplements (Vitamins, Minerals, Herbals, Non-Herbals, & Others), and Functional Foods & Beverages”.
The word “nutraceutical” is a resultant of two words – “nutrient” denoting a substance that supplies nourishment necessary for nurturing life and for growth and “pharmaceutical” is an amalgam engineered for utilising it as a remedial drug or relating to remedial drugs, or their production, usage, or sale.
According to one of the sayings by Hippocrates, a Greek physician (recognised as the father of medicine) who said, “let food be your medicine”, to focus on prevention is the philosophy behind nutraceuticals. Their part in human nutrition is one of the most significant areas of investigation, with wide-raging inference for consumers, food producers, regulators, healthcare providers and distributors.
Nutraceutical is merged with Ayurveda to support speedy recovery, in Indian medication system. A variety of herbs that are of medicinal value and food products are mixed together to develop various products that fosters human natural health and immune system. Also, a range of herbs are processed to extricate nutrients like minerals or vitamins from organic vegan source. These combinations have fashioned a new bracket of Nutraceuticals.
Categories of nutraceuticals
The meaning of nutraceuticals and associated products generally relies on the source. They can be categorised on the basis of their natural sources, pharmacological situations, as well as chemical framework of the products. Most often they are clustered in the following categories: dietary supplements, medicinal food, functional nourishment and farmaceuticals.
A dietary supplement depicts a product that accommodates nutrients acquired from food products, and is often condensed in liquid, powder, capsule or pill form. Although dietary supplements are monitored by the FDA, their regulation is different from drugs and other foods. FSSAI in India also supervises it.
Referring to their general definition, functional food is a category which incorporates whole foods and improved dietary components that may diminish the risk of chronic disease and grant a health-benefit beyond the customary nutrients it carries.
Medical food is devised to be ingested internally, under the observation of an experienced physician. Its proposed use is a precise dietary management of a disease for which peculiar nutritional requirements are established by the medical assessment (on the basis of known scientific principle).
Farmaceuticals are medically important components produced from altered agricultural crops or animals. The term is a combination of the words “farm” and “pharmaceuticals”. Supporters of this concept believe that using crops (and animals) in pharmaceutical factories is much more economical than conservative methods, with elevated revenue for producers of agriculture. Nowadays, employment of biotechnology or genetically modified products is in use more in order to prepare nutraceuticals and Ayurvedic products.
Potential health benefits
In the span of many years, nutraceuticals have pulled hefty interest due to their potential nutritional, safety and therapeutic results. They could have a part in a plethora of biological processes, encompassing antioxidant defences, gene expression, cell expansion and protection of mitochondrial wholeness.
Therefore, nutraceuticals may be utilised to advance health, stop chronic diseases, postpone the process of aging (and thereby increase life expectancy), or just maintain functions and unity of the body. They are regarded as healthy sources for prevention of fatal diseases such as diabetes, renal and gastrointestinal disorders, and also various infections.
An extensive range of nutraceuticals have been revealed to inflict pivotal roles in immune status and vulnerability to certain disease states. They also show diseases modifying indications in relation to oxidative stress involving allergy, cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, eye conditions, Parkinson’s diseases, cancer and obesity.
Need and development of Nutra Club
The necessity of nutraceuticals has increased in India due to absence of balanced diet, increased stress and inappropriate lifestyle. The diet of people in metro cities as well as tier 1 cities have changed significantly over a period of years formulating a huge scope for nutraceutical market to widen. These are the people who are also aware of the significance of balanced diet and are conscious about the fact that their food lacks required vitamins and mineral supplements. They have started the consumption of nutraceuticals products in the form of pills and tablets. The wakefulness among people and their lifestyle have led to the creation of an enormous demand for nutraceuticals as well as ayurvedic products. Drug makers are taking advantage of this and have started focusing on this segment. Various companies like Dabur and Himalaya are well known and experienced players in this segment. But arrival of Patanjali has provoked the competition and demand of this segment. As per current trends, many major pharmaceutical players are planning to enter this segment of industry.
Zota Healthcare was already enlightened about this upcoming trend and has worked in that part. The research in this area was rewarding to us and we have advanced the development of an exceptional formulation of Vitamin B12 liquid oral spray. Vitamin B12’s natural source is beef and meat, and therefore most of vegetarian Indians are prone to vitamin B12 deficiency. The way out to this is either aching vitamin B12 shots (injection) or Vitamin B12 tablets which are not properly absorbed. B12 liquid spray is a simple solution to this as spray form triggers absorption and lessens pain.