Nutraceuticals, Functional Foods and Health Effects

Dear Colleagues,

The relationship between disease, lifestyle and diet has been established through various studies, leading to increasing demand for functional foods among consumers globally. Functional foods (natural, processed or conventional) contain known/unknown bioactive compounds, in defined, effective, and non-toxic amounts, that provide a clinically proven and documented health benefit for the prevention, management, or treatment of viral and chronic diseases. Nutraceuticals, on the other hand, are foods that provide the body with medical or health benefits, including nutrients for the prevention and treatment of a disease. 

Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and viral infections are the most common causes of premature death and morbidity around the world. These diseases also have a huge impact on health-care costs, productivity, and growth (Otunola and Martiryosan 2021). Examples are mental, eye and gut health, inflammation, ageing and beauty, cancer, gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases, among others.

Considerable interest has been expressed by manufacturers, consumers and health professionals in functional foods and nutraceuticals for obvious reasons, including the fact that the efficacy of synthetic drugs is limited by adverse side reactions (Singh et al., 2018). Although currently a small scientific field, functional foods and nutraceutical science is rapidly growing, as studies show that functional food products can help manage chronic disease and promote overall wellness. 

Therefore, this Special Issue is aimed at exploring the health benefits of functional foods and nutraceuticals for the prevention, care and management of chronic conditions. The focus would be on recipes, ingredients, methods, dosages, identification, development of functional foods, chemical characterization of active components, specific health benefits as well as the mechanisms of action. Myths and controversial results relevant to the topic would also be welcome. This will help validate and confirm the health potentials and bioactivity of functional foods and give scientific backing to the various claims for efficacy.

Dr. Gloria Aderonke Otunola
Prof. Dr. Omorogieva Ojo
Guest Editors

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