Role of Nutraceutical in Treatment of Diabetes

Today, the exploration and exploitation of the disease fighting properties of a multitude of photochemicals found in both food and non-food plants have created a renaissance in human health and nutrition research. At the same time, many opportunities for the development of novel dietary products have been created. With all new fields of study comes a new term known as "Nutraceuticals" [1]. A term combining the words “nutrition” (a nourishing food or food component) and “pharmaceutical” (a medical drug), is a food or food product that provides health and medical benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease. Such products may range from isolated nutrients, dietary supplements and specific diets to genetically engineered foods, herbal products and processed foods such as cereals, soups and beverages. [2] Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, said that people should “Let food be thy medicine. Nutraceuticals have received considerable interest in recent times because of their presumed safety and potential nutritional and pharmaceutical value. Nutraceuticals are substances which are not traditionally recognized nutrients but which have positive physiological effects on the human body. They are claimed to possess multiple therapeutic benefits. The medicinal plants represent one of the important fields of traditional medicine all over the world and hence an established constituent of nutraceuticals. The interface between the nutritional environment and cellular/ genetic processes is termed as ‘nutrigenomics’. It provides a molecular enlightenment of phytochemicals benefitting human health by altering the expression or constitution of genes. This leads to alteration in initiation, development and progression of different diseases. Thus, nutrigenomics is very important in the role of nutraceuticals against ageing and different diseases by proving genetic information. Nutritionals also help the patient’s psycology to change their behavior to gradually improve their life style [11].