title: Health-beneficial nutraceuticals-myth or reality?
abstract: The modern term nutraceutical sounds extremely promising to the health-conscious consumers and to the broad audience. But what are the scientific foundations of this hybrid between nutrient and pharmaceutical? Still, most compelling evidence for potential health-beneficial effects of nutraceuticals seem to derive from descriptive and correlative epidemiological data. Here, we will take an inventory of the general concepts of research to assess the current plethora of health claims that were made for nutraceutical products. Thereby, we will discuss the limitations of current experimental approaches to advance in establishing mechanistic or causal links to the possible benefits of bioactive dietary molecules. Finally, we aim to provide perspectives to generate potential scientific evidence for the beneficial effects of nutraceuticals on human physiology.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Functional Genomics, Nutrigenomics and Systems Biology, BIMSB and BIH Scientific Genomics Platforms, Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Robert-Rössle-Straße 10, 13125, Berlin, Germany. sascha.sauer@mdc-berlin.de.
authors.forename: Sascha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sauer
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Functional Genomics, Nutrigenomics and Systems Biology, BIMSB and BIH Scientific Genomics Platforms, Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Robert-Rössle-Straße 10, 13125, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Annabell
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Plauth
mesh_terms: D001688:Biological Products; D004032:Diet; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D006262:Health; D059165:Hormesis; D006801:Humans; D059808:Polyphenols / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D000077185:Resveratrol; D013267:Stilbenes / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001688:Biological Products; D059808:Polyphenols; D013267:Stilbenes; D000077185:Resveratrol
keywords: Hormesis; Nutrition; Omics; Pharmacology; Polyphenols; Resveratrol