Nutritional supplements, herbal items, and processed foods, including
cereals, soups, and beverages, are all sources of nutraceuticals that have medicinal or
health benefits for the prevention and treatment of diseases. Nature has provided us
with immeasurable, wonderful gifts, including natural products, herbal medicines, etc.
All the civilizations, societies, cultures, and ethnic groups from pre-historic times till
the present use plants, animals, and minerals to cure diseases. Numerous cultures have
a long history of using plants to cure a variety of disorders, which has led to the
formation of well-defined medical systems like Ayurveda, traditional African remedies,
Chinese herbal medicines, Kampo in Japan, etc. Many medicinal plants' healing
qualities have been acknowledged on a global scale. Various scientific studies,
preclinical studies, clinical studies, etc., are going on to collect scientific evidence to
prove their activity. There are safety problems associated with allopathic medicines.
Nutraceuticals are foods high in nutrients that are consumed for reasons other than
mere nutrition. These medications have shown promising outcomes in recent studies in
the treatment of various pathological illnesses, including cancer, diabetes,
cardiovascular disease, and neurological problems, with nutritional benefits. The most
common nutraceuticals are curcumin from turmeric, glucosamine from ginseng,
omega-3 fatty acid from linseed, β-Lactoglobulin from bovine milk, etc. This chapter
describes the role of nutraceuticals in health and how they are different from foods and
medicines.
Keywords: Culinary spices, Herbal medicine, Probiotics, Present therapies.
