10 - Novel paradigm of design and delivery of nutraceuticals with nanoscience and technology

Abstract

As the consumers are greatly concerned about their health and worried about the advanced diagnostic and therapeutic strategy in the recent medical science, there comes the significance of alternative advantageous products, which are highly beneficial for maintaining normal physiological function that supports healthy human beings. Foods and nutrients play a fundamental role for maintaining the health and minimizing the risk of several diseases. In recent years there is an increasing concern in nutraceuticals that offer several health benefits and are considered as an alternative to contemporary medicine. Nutraceutical is the amalgamation of the terminologies “nutrition” and “pharmaceutical” and is generally considered as a food or food product that offers health and medical benefits, which includes prevention and treatment of disease. Nutraceuticals have the potential to appreciably minimize the possible risk of side effects related to chemotherapy thus holds promise in the existing clinical therapy. As part of an incredible burst for functional benefits as well as to defend against diseases, nutraceuticals generally comprise food and dietary supplements, value-added processed foods, nonfood supplements (tablets, soft gels, capsules, etc). In brief, nutraceuticals have led the food industry to a highly research-oriented sector which harnesses the benefits of food supplements against the prevention and treatment of diseases that aids to augment the confidence of consumers in nutraceuticals. In this chapter, we discuss the role of nanoscience and technology in delivering nutraceuticals. We focus on the development of various nanoparticles for the encapsulation of nutraceuticals and the nanoscale delivery agents that are being used.