Current and Emerging Trends in the Formulation and Manufacture of Nutraceuticals and Functional Food Products

In the last few decades, emphases on the role of foods have shifted from substances consumed merely to quell hunger or to provide needed nutrients for normal cellular function to substances that can potentially promote health and wellness and, particularly, reduce risk of disease. These foods are frequently referred to as nutraceuticals and/or functional foods with various reported bioactive functions (e.g., immunomodulators, antihypertensives, osteoprotectives, hypocholesterolemics, antioxidatives, and antimicrobials). Nutraceuticals and/or functional foods are a fast-growing, multi-billion-dollar global industry that has been expanding annually. Strong market growths of these foods confirm their perceived nutritional benefits and, in some cases, provide a surrogate substantiation of their health claims. It also provides evidence of increasing product innovations, consumer acceptance of healthy-living lifestyles through nutrition, and a growing shift from pharmaceutically derived supplements. Consumers are interested in preventing