The development of functional foods: lessons from the gut

• Published in: Trends in Biotechnology 1999-12, Vol.17 (12), p.492-499
• Main Authors: German, Bruce, Schiffrin, Eduardo J., Reniero, Roberto, Mollet, Beat, Pfeifer, Andrea, Neeser, Jean-Richard
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Biotechnology; Cholesterol; Cholesterol - analysis; Clostridium - metabolism; Dietary Carbohydrates - analysis; Dietary fibres; Digestive System - microbiology; Food Analysis; Food Handling - methods; Food industries; Food Industry - methods; Food Technology; Functional foods; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gut; Health benefits; Helicobacter pylori - metabolism; Humans; medicinal properties; Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Prebiotics; Probiotics; Research and development. New food products, dietetic foods and beverages; Salmonella - metabolism; Space life sciences; Starch - analysis
• ISSN: 0167-7799; 1879-3096
• DOI: 10.1016/S0167-7799(99)01380-3

Functional foods have resulted from the gradual recognition that healthy diets result from eating nutritious foods and from the identification of the mechanisms by which foods modulate metabolism and health. After initial successes with foods that reduce blood cholesterol level, probiotic bacteria and prebiotic carbohydrates have now also demonstrated added health benefits. As ingredients become more complex, the need to stabilize such ingredients in foods become increasingly important to the success of functional foods. Modern biotechnologies such as genomics, genetic expression and biomarkers of health and performance will be applied to this increasingly visible portion of human diets.