ABSTRACT
Food and nutrition security for the ever-increasing global population is one of the major challenges facing mankind. Sustainable production of food that could deliver functional, nutritional benefits, as well as prevent the occurrence of illnesses such as obesity, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes is in high demand. With such challenge comes the need to search for functional foods containing bioactive constituents that could deliver anticipated health benefits outside basic nourishment and play significant roles in the prevention of lifestyle-associated diseases. Fish has been considered as one of the available protein sources containing necessary bioactive components such as polypeptides, vitamins, and minerals, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), amino acids, and peptides. Therefore, the ingestion of fish and/or fish containing products with adequate bioactive compounds could avert the fear of developing chronic sicknesses such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. This book chapter details the health benefits associated with functional foods and nutraceuticals and highlights some prominent biomolecules available in fish and fish products that has been used for prevention and management of chronic ailments. Included are safety issues, challenges in the formulation of stable products from fish, as well as the in vivo and in vitro biological actions from bioactive components of fish and its products.
