CHAPTER ONE
1:0 INTRODUCTION
1:1 Background of the study
The term “nutraceutical” is used to describe these medicinally or nutritionally functional foods. Nutraceuticals, which have also been called medical foods, designer foods, phytochemicals, functional foods and nutritional supplements, include such everyday products as “bio” yoghurts and fortified breakfast cereals, as well as vitamins, herbal remedies and even genetically modified foods and supplements. Many different terms and definitions are used in different countries, which can result in confusion. (Ekta 2003).
The term “nutraceutical” was coined in 1989 by Stephen De Felice, founder and chairman of the Foundation for Innovation in Medicine, an American organization which encourages medical health research. (Rajasekaran et al.,2008). He defined a nutraceutical as a “food, or parts of a food, that provide medical or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease”.
In Canada, a functional food has been defined as being “similar in appearance to conventional foods consumed as part of a usual diet” whereas a nutraceutical is “a product produced from foods but sold in pills, powders, (potions) and other medicinal forms not generally associated with food”. (Faisal et al., 2009)
In Britain, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has developed a definition of a functional food as “a food that has a component incorporated into it to give it a specific medical or physiological benefit, other than purely nutritional benefit”(Kathleen.et al.,2013). Hence, both in Canada and in Britain, a functional food is essentially a food, but a nutraceutical is an isolated or concentrated form. In America, “medical foods” and “dietary supplements” are regulatory terms. However, “nutraceuticals”, “functional foods”, and other such terms are determined by consultants and marketers, based on consumer trends (Sarin et al., 2012).
Many of these new products that are being promoted to treat various disease states, find their origins in the plant kingdom. This is an obvious choice as many plants produce secondary compounds such as alkaloids to protect themselves from infection and these constituents may be useful in the treatment of human infection. There is also a long history of plant use in many cultures which can be used to identify plants with activity in the treatment of disease (Kathleen et al., 2013).
There are many functional foods and nutraceuticals that are becoming increasingly available in the marketplace, but there is a challenge for the functional food producers because such products should address the issue of sensory acceptability which is not necessary for the nutraceutical or pharmaceutical products (Ajit 2012).
Plant foods serve as a rich source of phenolic and polyphenolic compounds. The concentration of phenolics and polyphenolics is mainly in the skin and seeds of fruits, but leaves often provide a richer source of phenolics. An example for this is blueberry leaves that are excellent sources of antioxidants (Palthur et al.,2010
1:2 OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study is to determine the nutraceutical composition of Jatropha tanjorensis as edible leafy vegetable in part of Akwa ibom state-Nigeria
Determine quantitative phytochemical screening of Jatropha tanjorensis
Determine the nutrient and antinutrient of Jatropha tanjorensis
Determine the proximate composition of Jatropha tanjorensis
