ABSTRACT
It is accepted that nutrients provide health benefits. The human population needs many nutrients and minerals to survive. The term nutraceutical combines the areas of nutrients and pharmaceuticals. The belief behind this is that nutrients can be used to treat disparities in health by increasing the amount of respective nutrient components through foods, food products, and dietary supplementation. Especially in today’s society, where people might not be gaining all the necessary nutrients through the foods they eat, supplement use is on the rise. The nutraceutical and supplement market are expected to reach U.S$250 billion by 2018 (Inc.).
In this chapter, we will discuss the definition given to the term nutraceutical over the past 45 years and will talk about the category of antioxidant nutraceuticals and how these have contributed to the history of various worldwide populations and indigenous medical systems.
