Seventy five years of research and development in nutraceuticals in horticultural crops

Nutraceuticals are food or part of food which promotes health and prevent diseases. Currently, nutraceuticals are of much interest due to its nutritive value and maintains proper functioning of the human body. Nutraceuticals have advantages in comparison to the pharmaceutically available medicines. Nutraceuitcals have been classified into traditional and nontraditional nutraceuticals on the basis of availability of food, chemical nature and mechanism of action. The global market of nutraceutical is predicted to grow upto US $734.601 by 2026. In India, the growth of nutraceutical segment is predicted to grow upto US $8.5 billion by 2022. In the initial years, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulated the dietary supplements under foods. The FSSAI i.e. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, New Delhi is the first Indian regulatory system to recognize, classify and put the nutraceuticals under foods according to the Indian Food Safety and Standard Act. The horticultural crops are best source for extraction of phyto-nutrients and have been useful in decreasing the chances of various diseases. Citrus fruits in particular can be utilized as an alternative option in formulation of novel nutraceutical products. Citrus nutraceuticals if extracted efficiently can be useful in increasing the economic status of the region as a whole.