Nitika Sharma
Khalsa College of Pharmacy, India
Title: Nutraceuticals in disease prevention and therapy
Biography
Biography: Nitika Sharma
Abstract
Nutraceuticals is combination of two words ‘nutrition’ and ‘pharmaceuticals’, invented by Stephen L. DeFelice in 1989. Nutraceuticals can be considered as food or as a part of food which plays a vital role in maintaining the health status, regulating immunity and thus treating as well as curing of a various diseases like cardiovascular disease, neurological disease, diabetes etc. By increasing awareness levels about health and fitness, urged by media coverage are prompting the majority of masses to lead healthier lifestyles. In a growing percentage of vascular disease etiologies, atherosclerosis is one of the most common ailments observed. Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids are found to reduce the formation of thromboxane and hence, are useful as preventive measures for atherosclerosis. Omega-3-fatty acids have been found to be useful for the reduction of LDL and VLDL levels and increase in physicochemical stability of cell wall. Besides, nutraceuticals exhibit an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties as well which provide useful measures for preventing and treating diabetic complications. There are a wide variety of neuro-degenerative diseases with different symptoms and pathologies which can be cured by nutritional supplements. Oxidative stress plays a fundamental role in aging and neurodegeneration. In recent studies, it has been proved that blueberries have found with highest antioxidant content which act by normalize sensitivity to neurotransmitters and promote synaptic plasticity.