ABSTRACT
Nutraceuticals are naturally derived phytochemicals with potential health benets and without the characteristics of being essential nutrients. Functional foods are foods that contain these nonessential substances with potential health benets. Although several compounds that are derived from animal and synthetic sources when added to natural foods to enhance their physiological activity are regarded as “nutraceuticals,” the term is restricted to plant-derived substances that enhance the functionality of food beyond its normal nutritive value. Several variations in the general denition of functional foods exist but the generally accepted denition is that of the Food and Nutrition Board of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, which denes functional food as foods that provide health benets beyond basic nutrition.1 Nutraceuticals are therefore the substances that occupy the intermediary place between functional foods and drugs.
