Chapter 11 - Food bioactives: the food image behind the curtain of health promotion and prevention against several degenerative diseases

Abstract

Increasing experimental and epidemiological evidence has shown the progression of degenerative diseases globally despite the advent of novel drug discoveries in the management of these diseases. Plants are rich in bioactive compounds and act additively or synergistically to confer good health benefits through disease prevention. Food bioactives, otherwise called bioactive compounds in food, are the image behind the curtain of food in that they hide behind food while promoting health and preventing diseases. Therefore, food bioactives are the additional constituents in food aside from the basic nutritional constituents. These food bioactives include alkaloids, polyphenols, polyunsaturated fatty acids, flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins, carotenoids, peptides, and omega-3. Consumption of food rich in bioactive compounds has been linked to reduced incidence and progression of these degenerative diseases through protection against oxidative damage, modulation/alteration of the activities of important enzymes, and certain metabolic processes. This chapter describes food bioactives as the food image behind disease prevention and health promotion.