Nutraceuticals as Adjunct Medical Foods for Pharmaceuticals that Support Better Patient Outcomes.
It is indeed a fact that as modern drug discovery and development have stemmed from the application and evaluation of plants and natural products, nutraceuticals remain an important source of medicinal agents that may lead to novel treatment strategies [1]. Nutraceuticals include active phytochemicals isolated from plants, dietary supplements, and functional foods with medicinal properties. Nutraceuticals can include immune boosting foods and nutrients such as zinc, vitamins, garlic, turmeric, ginger, selenium, Vitamin D3 probiotics, prebiotics and others that when employed in disease states may ameliorate disease causing symptoms (e.g., neutropenia).
With the epidemic of chronic diseases and associated pathological complications, health has become the forefront of scientific research for identifying novel foods and strategies to tackle such a public health burden. The past years have witnessed significant challenges in the traditional concepts of nutrition and pharmaceuticals. Recently, the idea of the administration of nutraceuticals as medicinal foods as adjuncts to pharmaceutical medicines has gained significant support with therapeutic potential. Indeed, a holistic approach of the concept of medicinal foods has been drawn from studies that report that foods are not intended to satisfy hunger and only provide essential macro– and micronutrients to the patient, but also to supply the patient with bioactive active physiological ingredients / molecules that aid to decrease nutrition-related diseases and ensure physical and mental well-being [1].
There is the potential of new microbiome-based strategies, such as probiotics, prebiotics and nutraceuticals, as promising medical therapeutics that could be used in combination to enhance current pharmaceutical medicines [2].
This lecture will highlight the administration of probiotics, zinc, magnesium orotate and vitamin D3 and B12 in disease states such as T2D, CKD, large bowel cancer and mood disorders in conjunction with pharmaceutical medicines that as such could enhance therapeutic outcomes and improve symptom burden.
References available upon request.