What Are Nutraceuticals?

One of the up and coming branches in the field of life sciences is Nutraceuticals. Coined in 1989 the term Nutraceuticals is derived from two words, nutrients and pharmaceuticals. Thus, Nutraceuticals can be defined as a product which is made from food sources with additional medical health benefits along with basic food nutrition. The philosophy behind this branch of life sciences is to let food be a medicine over and above its nutritional value.

Based on the chemical composition of products, natural sources and pharmacological conditions, Nutraceuticals can be further categorized into dietary supplements, functional food, medicinal food and pharmaceuticals. A dietary supplement is a product extracted from food products with high nutritional value. Currently it is available in liquid, capsule, powder and pill form. An interesting fact about dietary supplements is that despite being regulated by the FDA as foods, their regulation differs from drugs and other foods. The next category functional food includes whole foods and fortified, enriched or enhanced dietary components that hamper the propensity of risk to chronic diseases and provide a health-benefit beyond the traditional nutrients it contains. Medical food on the other hand is a type of nutraceutical which is consumed under a physician’s guidance and supervision. Through medical evaluation, nutritional requirements to combat certain diseases are established and prescribed. Last of the lot are pharmaceuticals which can be defined as highly valuable medical components produced from modified crops or animals. Combined from the words, farms and pharmaceuticals, the concept revolves around using crops in pharmaceutical factories. Advocates for this category of nutraceuticals find it far more cost effective than conventional methods and a higher source of income for agricultural producers.

Nutraceuticals preaches the idea of prevention being better than cure. Over the years, this concept has garnered a lot of attention owing to its nutritive, safety and therapeutic effects. On the outset, nutraceuticals can be used to stay healthy, control symptoms and prevent malignant processes. However, the sky's the limit if we dig deep into the potential health benefits of nutraceuticals. From antioxidant defences, cell proliferation, gene expression to safeguarding of mitochondrial integrity, nutraceuticals are a one stop for all. Alzheimer’s, cancer, eye conditions, renal and a whole host of life-threatening diseases can be prevented via a daily dose of nutraceuticals.

New innovations in food and nutritional technology has paved the way for medical ERP. Medical ERP has wide-ranging implications for consumers, health-care providers, regulators, food producers and distributors. Regulatory agencies nowadays hold a sword on the industry’s neck to abide by cGMP guidelines to protect consumer interests. Hence in order to profit one has to make cost effective and high-quality nutraceuticals. In this light, life sciences ERP is the road to take.

Life sciences ERP such as that of nutraceuticals lends a hand in product development, costing, regulatory compliance and traceability thus making its worth weight in gold. From raw material planning and procurement, quality management and assurance to supply chain management, grievance handling and formula secrecy, medical ERP is what differentiates the best in the business from the rest. Creating a lean supply chain, medical ERP is the go-to response to a dynamic environment where demand-supply changes occur in the blink of an eye.

With rising health & safety standards and stringent regulatory compliances, profit making in the life sciences Industry is an uphill battle. However, life sciences ERP has emerged as the trojan horse the industry needs in its quest to attain profit. For profit is the name of the game and medical ERP is how you play and win it.