ABSTRACT
The term “nutraceuticals,” coined from “nutrients” and “pharmaceuticals” by Stephen DeFelici in 1989, is frequently used interchangeably with “functional foods” even though there is a slight disparity between the two. Nutraceuticals are “naturally derived bioactive compounds that are found in foods, dietary supplements and herbal products, and have health promoting, disease preventing, or medicinal properties” (Pandey et al., 2011). Functional foods consist of an ingredient that provides a health-promoting property in addition to its usual nutritional value, for example, probiotic yogurts. When the food is cooked or prepared using “scientic intelligence” with or without understanding of how or why it is being used, the food is called “functional food” (FAO Report, 2007). A functional food that facilitates the prevention or treatment of disorders or diseases other than anemia is called a “nutraceutical.” Functional foods supply the required amount of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, fats, and so on, needed for healthy survival (FAO Report, 2007). The use of functional foods is becoming an area of growth for the food industry due to the side effects of drugs and negative impact of supplements on human health. Functional foods are one of the largest growing markets in Japan and are dened as regular food derived from naturally occurring ingredients to be consumed as a part of the diet and not in the form of supplements (i.e., in the form of tablets and capsules). However, a thorough investigation of the characteristics and biological activity of functional foods and nutraceuticals, such as their therapeutic or disease-preventing efcacy, proper dosage, and possible adverse effects, is necessary. Signicant prospective research in this eld includes the following (Jackson and Paliyath, 2011):
1. Identication, quantication, and standardization of promising bioactive components in functional foods
2. Investigation on the effects of functional foods and nutraceuticals on human health 3. Development of strategies to enhance the levels of these compounds in raw and
processed foods 4. Establishment of proper dosage and delivery systems 5. Studies on bioavailability and metabolism of functional foods and nutraceuticals 6. Studies on technical and safety issues that have a bearing on Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) regulations and health claim evaluations 7. Examination of regulatory issues 8. Research on the stability of the functional foods and nutraceuticals after processing 9. Interaction of functional foods and nutraceuticals with drugs and other func-
tional foods and nutraceuticals
The ocean is the mother of life and it is presumed that the most primeval forms of life originated from this “primordial soup” (Bhatnagar and Kim, 2010). Oceans are regarded as rich in organic compounds that are favorable for the evolution and growth of life. The marine environment covers a broad range of abiotic conditions such as temperature (from below freezing temperature in Antarctic water to about 350°C in deep hydrothermal vents), pressure (1-1000 atm), and nutrients (from oligotrophic to eutrophic), and it has
extensive photic and nonphotic zones. This variability has facilitated the extensive speciation at all phylogenetic levels, from microbes to mammals. As these organisms bloom in different types of climatic conditions, they develop certain adaptation mechanisms that may be useful not only for their defense but also for human beings in many ways. The production of bioactive metabolites and compounds is one such adaptation mechanism which helps in the survival from predators. Chemists have been fascinated with the discovery of the rst marine natural products due to the enormous structural variability and complexity of metabolites and compounds isolated from marine organisms ranging from plants and invertebrates to marine microorganisms. It was in the 1960s that scientists began to focus on marine environment as an unexplored and novel resource of potentially valuable bioactive metabolites and compounds. This could be due to the fact that more than 95% of the Earth’s biosphere is covered with oceans (Davidson, 1995), and researchers are striving to discover bioactive metabolites and compounds in unexpected places as the antibiotic resistance among pathogens increases and the production of novel bioactive compounds has tapered. As a result, more than 10,000 metabolites and compounds have been isolated and characterized from marine environments over the past ve decades (Fuesetani, 2000).
