Page 38 - FoodFocusThailand No.162 September 2019

SPECIAL FOCUS
SPECIAL FOCUS

Nutraceuticals

and its Application in

Food & Beverage

Industry

People have realized that along with the taste, convenience component has been added to provide health benefits and
and value, nutritional value is a very important concern in (ii) a food in which the bioavailability of one or more
selecting food. components has been increased throughout the shelf-life
until consumers.
A broad definition of bioavailability has been proposed
In the 20th century, the term nutraceutical was introduced to describe a
union between nutrition and pharmaceutics, with both being major contributors referring to the proportion of an ingested bioactive substance
to human health and wellness. Nutraceuticals can be defined as dietary and used for normal body functions. Overall, material factors
supplements that deliver a concentrated form of a presumed bioactive agent determine the bioavailability of nutrients and nutraceuticals
from a food. However, there seems to be a thin line distinguishing terms such are, for instance, solubility and molecular weight of such a
as nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements and functional foods. compound. Research has shown that the bioavailability of
These terms have often been used interchangeably. drugs can be greatly improved by incorporating them within
Several nutraceuticals have been marketed in different forms, such as, nanoparticle delivery system. The relative high surface area
tablets, capsules, powders and liquids. Nutraceuticals are mainly derived from of these systems can lead to rapid dissolution of drug
plants or other primary food sources. Botanical-based products are the through intestinal barrier. Thus, there is a great interest in
backbone of the health food market. Various types of products have been developing nanoscale delivery systems for nutraceuticals
developed and promoted. Categories apply in nutraceuticals are listed below: intended for food use.
• Carbohydrates: dietary fiber and prebiotics Recently, there has been considerable interest in the
• Lipids: polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω3 and ω6 fatty acids) utilization of nanoparticles as delivery systems with
• Bioactive peptides from milk, soy, egg and marine products functional foods and beverages. The major benefits of
• Polyphenols and phytochemicals nanoparticles for enhancing nutrient bioavailability are
• Probiotics highlighted as:
When nutraceuticals have been added into the food system, we obtained • An increase in surface area may lead to faster
so called “Functional foods”, which drops in the view of (i) a food to which a digestion.

38 FOOD FOCUS THAILAND SEP 2019