Nutraceuticals and Natural Medicine

Herbal medicine, also called botanical medicine or phytomedicine, refers to using a plant's seeds, berries, roots, leaves, bark, or flowers for medicinal purposes. Herbalism has a long tradition of use outside conventional medicine. It is becoming more mainstream as improvements in analysis and quality control, along with advances in clinical research, show the value of herbal medicine in treating and preventing disease.

Traditional alternative medicine. This field includes the more mainstream and accepted forms of therapy, such as acupuncture, homeopathy, and Oriental practices. These therapies have been practiced for centuries worldwide. Traditional alternative medicine may include

The use of herbal medicinal products and supplements has increased tremendously over the past three decades. Although some herbal medicines have promising potential and are widely used, many of them remain untested and their use also not monitored. Various advertisements in the mass media including television and radio programmes have significantly increased consumers’ awareness and given the herbal products undue respectability and credibility.

Ayurveda places great emphasis on prevention and encourages the maintenance of health through close attention to balance in one’s life, right thinking, diet, lifestyle and the use of herbs. In Ayurveda, body, mind and consciousness work together in maintaining balance.

Traditional Chinese medicine is a healing approach that originated in China thousands of years ago. Often referred to as "TCM," practitioners use herbs, diet, acupuncture, cupping, and qigong to prevent or treat health problems. In TCM, the treatment would depend on diagnosing the imbalance different from modern medicine which is based on diagnosis

Natural medicine, also called herbal medicine, has been around for centuries. Natural medicine is commonly practiced by people who prefer to treat symptoms and illnesses with natural remedies rather than pharmaceuticals.

Nutrigenomics is science that deals to understand how the food we consume exerts an impact upon on the functioning of our genes. There is a growing understanding that gene function plays a major role in our dynamic health states, and that DNA  plays a role not only in determining our inherited traits our risk of disease also.

The regulatory pathway to market nutraceuticals product is either dietary supplements or food fortification. Both dietary supplements and conventional foods can make approved health claims and qualified health claims, but these are limited and require costly and time-consuming regulatory process within the FDA. There should be a harmonization of food regulations around the world.

Nutraceuticals are products derived from food sources that provide both nutrition and medicinal benefits.

Cosmeceuticals are products that have both cosmetic and therapeutic effects, and are intended to have a beneficial effect on skin health and beauty. Like cosmetics, they are applied as creams or lotions but contain active ingredients that have an effect on skin cell function. In some cases, their action is limited to the skin surface (such as exfoliants), while others can penetrate to deeper levels, either enhancing or limiting normal skin functions.

To enhance the efficacy of nutraceuticals, delivery systems are greatly needed to protect nutraceuticals from the harsh conditions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Drug delivery systems using nanotechnology, such as biocompatible polymers, including smart polymers that are stimuli responsive are used, various drug delivery systems were adopted, including nanoparticles, liposomes, dendrimers, phytosomes, nanoemulsion and others.

Research shows that nutrients and nutraceuticals play an important role in the prevention, management, and treatment of mental health disorders and psychological functioning.

Nutraceuticals have been used for thousands of years for the prevention and treatment of human and animal diseases. Nutraceuticals are used in animals against diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal, hepatic, renal, immune, and other systems. Some diseases are more prevalent in certain species than others, such as osteoarthritis in horses and dogs, and type II diabetes in dogs and cats.

Nutraceuticals are useful in sports medicine as they help athletes improve their performance and reduce oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, which occurs due to heavy exercise.

Nutraceuticals play an important role in preventing the onset of chronic diseases and reduce the complications involved. Evidence suggests they are used in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and inflammatory-based diseases.

Functional foods are any food or food ingredient that provides a health benefit other than basic nutrition.

Probiotics are live microorganisms which provide health benefits when consumed by improving or restoring the gut flora

Dietary supplements are those products that contain concentrated bioactive nutrients from a food source processed into a suitable dosage form. These supplements can contain one or more of the following: amino acids, vitamins, herbs or other botanicals, minerals, important metabolites, and certain enzymes.