Global market

The exposure of nutrients as medicines in the pharmaceutical world is of prior importance and centres the attention of scientists and researchers toward the health benefits. The demand of these products has been found to be spiked and due to this, the nutraceutical market has become a million-dollar industry at a global level. Majority of the chemical components present in nutraceuticals that may possess beneficial health effects are derived from botanical sources, and will be considered to be natural in form. These products can be as diverse as proteins, peptides, lipids, flavonoids and isoflavanoids, polyphenols and tannins. Additionally, vitamins and minerals, sugar molecules such as glucosamine and chondroitin. As a result, interdisciplinary approaches are now been put in an application to design and develop various dosage forms to deliver these herbal products for the treatment of many disorders. In this review article, an attempt to classify all types of nutraceuticals, followed by their management in the treatment of various diseases has been carried out. It is also important to note that the purification, or not, of the nutraceutical from its natural matrix must also be considered as there may be contaminants/impurities/adulterants present that are deleterious to human health, or whose amounts are regulated by legislation (heavy metals, allergens, toxins). These must also be incorporated into a testing regime to ensure the safety of the product end-user.