nutraceutical

[ noo-truh-soo-ti-kuhl ]

noun

1. a bioactive compound occurring as a food component, additive, or product, including vitamins, dietary fiber, herbal extracts, carotenoids, and probiotics: nutraceuticals are said to promote health and well-being, allegedly helping in the prevention and treatment of disease.

nutraceutical

/ ˌnjuːtrəˈsjuːtɪkəl /

noun

1. another name for functional food

Word History and Origins

Origin of nutraceutical¹

Blend of nutrient ( def ) and pharmaceutical ( def ); coined by Stephen DeFelice, U.S. endocrinologist, in 1989

Example Sentences

Among a diverse array of natural products, mushrooms have emerged as a rich reservoir of bioactive molecules with potential pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications.

From Science Daily

The FDA should be empowered to verify nutraceutical products by chemically confirming their ingredients, enforcing recalls and product bans, and maintaining a publicly searchable database of all supplement and nutraceutical health products with their associated ingredients and efficacy studies.

From Scientific American

Nutraceutical makers can perform their own testing for safety and purity, but those tests, as well as any purported health benefits, are not required to be independently verified or submitted to the FDA.

From Scientific American

Nutraceutical companies certainly benefit from this confusion.

From Scientific American

The nutraceutical is made in India, where it is regulated as a food for special medical purpose, or FSMP, and then shipped around the world.

From Washington Post