History and Scope of Functional Foods in China

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China is one of the ancient cultures with the earliest development of written

languages. Some of the Chinese literature on functional foods available today can be

dated back 3000 years. These written records are unquestionably the most valuable

sources of information for understanding the origin and historical development of

functional foods in China. In the first part of this article, a concise history of the

origin and development of functional foods in China, we will highlight the

representative written works which appeared in different dynasties.