Ayurveda implications of Nutraceuticals: understating roles in preventive medicine

Abstract

Dietary risks factors have raised attention worldwide for non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The recent report form data in the 2019, showed that around 7.9 million deaths and 187.7 million disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) are linked to dietary risk factors and NCDs [1] . this is an awakening alarm to the health community in food sciences, pharmaceuticals and preventive medicine towards adapting a natural food based lifestyle. These NCDs are mainly due eating junk food, and low intake of dietary fruits or fibers leading to nutritive deficient states and, later diseases [2] . The term nutraceutical (coined by 1989 Dr. Stephen de-Felice) is derived form a combination of two words namely ‘nutrition’ and ‘pharmaceutical’. It is defined as any substance that is a food or a part of food that provides medicinal or health benefits including the prevention and/or treatment of a disease. The food products that provide health benefits and aid in reducing the risk of chronic diseases apart from nutrition may be inclusive under this term [3-5] . There is a paradigm shift in choice of daily food, and related practices towards nutraceuticals, owing to factors such as low risk, potential value and, the therapeutic effects they seem to offer. The nutraceutical market is growing tremendously worldwide and is valued at 74.7 billion in 2020, from its previous value of 36.6 billion dollars in 2016 [6] . Given the importance of nutraceuticals, the changing trends in perception of people and, the growing industrial/ markets, it’s imperative to discuss the basic type of dietary supplements with medicinal values (general nutraceuticals) with implications of Ayurveda. The current review is aimed to discuss the basic herbal nutraceuticals, their value in health and disease states.