FOOD BASED BIOACTIVE DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR DISEASE PREVENTION

In spite of improved medical care and the virtual elimination of disorders due to nutritional deficiencies, aging Americans are experiencing epidemics in chronic diseases ranging from cancer obesity, diabetes, vascular disease, arthritic and autoimmune conditions, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer?s. It is generally agreed that the combined effects of numerous compounds in foods rather than any single compound provides the optimal health-promoting benefits against the development of chronic degenerative diseases. A logical extension of such conventional wisdom is to develop functional foods. Functional foods are formulated by developing new food products that combine ingredients containing different classes of health-promoting factors in a manner that is both acceptable and attractive to the consumer. Various factors play key roles in delivering known bioactives in a food system. The stability and concentration of the bioactives during processing and storage need to be assessed. Simultaneously, the quality parameters of the food need to be preserved to assure high compliance when used as a dietary intervention in human clinical trials. These key parameters can be quantified by the use of various analytical techniques such as High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry as well as physico-chemical methods such as thermal analysis, texture and rheology and sensory analysis. The ultimate indicator of success is conducting a human clinical trial and verifying the efficacy of delivery of these bioactives and assessment of compliance.