Lipids for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals

Functional foods and nutraceuticals have become “hot topics” with an increasing number of books, college courses, and meetings devoted to this area of interest. In the field of nutrition there is a new emphasis on shifting from avoiding certain “harmful” foods to the more positive view of eating those foods and ingredients – including lipids – that promote good health. This may be seen as a contribution to holistic medicine. Healthy foods are to be preferred to pills and potions.

The idea that diet can contribute to good health is attractive on many counts. It is attractive to health-conscious individuals and especially to the growing number of those living beyond their appointed “three score years and ten” who want, not merely to stay alive, but to enjoy health and strength in their advancing years. It is attractive to governments concerned about increasing health costs and it is attractive to food producers anxious to develop new products with added value.

Foods can be regarded as functional if they can be satisfactorily demonstrated to contain bioactive molecules that reduce the risk of disease or act positively to promote good health. They are foods that are consumed normally, preferably in a form and at levels that are not likely to deviate greatly from the norm. Many producers of functional foods will wish to make a health claim and to do this they will have to be aware of recent research which supports their claims. They will find much to help them in the current volume.

Lipids are essential components in the diet and nutritionists should be more active in arguing the positive aspects of these molecules. They are required in their own right and also for the important minor components such as carotenoids, tocols, and sterols which accompany the oils and fats. The first chapter in the book is an overview of the development of functional foods and this is followed by chapters devoted to materials which are either lipids or are compounds that are fat-soluble and co-occur with oils and fats. These include: carotenoids, tocopherols, phytosterols, omega-3 (n-3) oils, diacylglycerols, structured lipids, sesame oil, rice bran oil, and oils or preparations containing palmitoleic acid, gamma-linolenic acid, stearidonic acid, or conjugated linoleic acid. These topics will be of interest to those who produce lipids and those who seek to incorporate them into appropriate foods, and this book is directed primarily to these two groups.

The authors come from Japan, China, North America, Australia, Malaysia, and several European countries. I am grateful to them for accepting my invitation to contribute and for agreeing to be bullied so that contributions of PREFACE vi quality were prepared according to the timetable worked out by the editor and the publisher. We, the writers, are grateful to the publisher, Peter J. Barnes, and copy editor, Beverley White, for their help and understanding and for converting our edited manuscripts to a pleasing volume of text. Finally we offer it to our readers in the hope that they will find it useful.

Frank Gunstone, St Andrews, Scotland

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LIPIDS FOR FUNCTIONAL FOODS AND NUTRACEUTICALS - BOOK REVIEWS

Kumar D. Mukherjee, writing in European Journal of Lipid Science & Technology, 2004, Vol.106, p.279........

[After a detailed description of the contents]...."All the chapters of this book [Lipids for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals], authored by specialists in the field, are well written and critical. They are supplemented with adequate number of tables (65), figures (44), and extensive lists of references (1183) up to date. The index is appropriate. This book should be useful to technologists, researchers, product developers and nutritionists who are involved in the production of lipids for functional foods and nutraceuticals and their application in appropriate formulations. It is my pleasure to recommend book also to libraries of institutions and other persons involved in lipids."

William Lavers, Consultant Editor, writing in Oils & Fats International, January 2004, p.32........

LipidAnalysis — now in its third edition and completely rewritten — is already a classic of its type, while Lipids for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals might well become one....Lipids represent one of the most important of the active ingredients and components of functional foods and nutraceuticals...With authors around the world contributing to various chapters, the book aims to provide the scientific basis for the various functional claims.

Parkash S. Kocchar, SPK Consultancy Services, Reading, UK (and Chairman of the UK Society of Chemical Industry Oils & Fats Group), writing in Chemistry & Industry, 17 November 2003, pp.26–27.......

"The oil and fat industry has a significant role to play in the future growth of the functional foods market....The book is excellent, well organised and clearly written. I can easily recommend the book to food scientists, fat chemists and technologists....as well as to researchers...". (These are brief comments taken from the extensive review which also describes the background to functional foods.)

Gary R. List, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, ARS, USDA Peoria, Illinois, USA, writing in INFORM, June 2003, pp.372–373.......

Functional foods and nutraceuticals have assumed importance to consumers, food industries, and the general public. This book summarizes the latest technical information on the role of lipids as healthy foods. It begins with an overview of functional foods including definitions, history, factors influencing their demands, and markets. Dairy products, margarines/spreads, bakery/cereal products, and soft drinks are covered in detail. Factors critical to their success in the marketplace are also well covered.

Carotenoids are covered in a separate chapter including their structure, nomenclature, and chemistry as well as sources, methods of extraction, functional properties, and their applications in food products. Tocopherols, tocotrienols, and vitamin E and their roles in preventing lipid peroxidation are well covered. Sections on dietary factors influencing alpha- and beta-tocopherol levels, vitamin E biodiscrimination, and metabolism are included. Nutritional genomics and tocopherols are discussed.

Other natural antioxidants including rice bran oil, sesame oil, rosemary extracts, and flavonoids are covered in a separate chapter including general characteristics, health benefits, extraction, and the effects of processing on their activity.

The biochemical and nutritional characteristics of diacylglycerols are presented in a separate chapter. Chemical studies and applications are thoroughly presented and discussed.

Structured lipids are rapidly becoming an important class of functional foods and enzymatic synthesis via lipases has received much attention. An excellent review of the subject is given in a chapter devoted to specific enzyme sources, and to strategies used to modify vegetable and fish oils as well as fats. Triacylglycerol analyses also are covered.

A separate chapter covers phytosterols including their chemistry, health effects, and sources. Sections on the development of sterol-enriched foods and their commercial applications are also included.

n-3 Fatty acids are covered in a separate chapter dealing with their physiological function, metabolism, and biological function in blood pressure control. Plasma/serum and lipoprotein lipids are discussed along with thrombus, prevention of cardiovascular disease, cancer, inflammation, psychiatric disorders, and obesity. Sources of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and methods to incorporate them into foods are discussed as well as commercial products in the marketplace and bioavailability in functional foods.

Vegetable oils containing oleic, palmitoleic, linolenic, and stearidonic acids are covered in a separate chapter. Special emphasis is placed on palmitoleic acid and its effect on cancer, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes. The occurrence of palmitoleic acid, sources, and enrichment are discussed. The metabolism, occurrence, and medical uses of gamma-linolenic acid are discussed along with functional foods containing it. The chapter concludes with a discussion of stearidonic acid. Sources, preparation and metabolism, nutritional health effects, and potential functional foods are discussed.

The final chapter deals with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and includes sections on potential health benefits, its role in animal husbandry, methods for CLA synthesis and isomer enrichment, commercial availability, new product development, and safety issues. Web sites for analysis, research, and commercial sources are included.
The references included in the various chapters are extensive and up-to-date and alone are worth the price of the book. The headings within each chapter are very helpful to the reader. The editor and contributors are to be commended for their efforts in producing this timely and well-researched book. Students, teachers, researchers, and food technologists will find this book to be an excellent resource.

Kelley Fitzpatrick, Marketing and Research & Development Manager, Richardson Centre for Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, writing in Lipid Technology, May 2003, Vol.15, p.52......

The functional food and nutraceuticals industry has garnered a great deal of attention in recent years both from consumers and the scientific community. This is especially true in the area of fats and oils, a segment that is very dynamic and is increasing in popularity due to a growing emphasis on product characteristics related to safety, high quality and effectiveness. Lipids for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals is the first book to address specifically the use of lipids in functional foods and nutraceuticals.

The role of dietary fats in human nutrition has created widespread interest in recent times among consumers, clinicians, researchers, health educators, food producers, and food processors and distributors. Lipids for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals provides essential background information in the areas of nutrition, analysis and methodology, formulation and market requirements when developing lipid-enhanced food products. Professor Gunstone has solicited chapters from an impressive collection of world-renowned lipid experts — specifically 22 authors from 10 countries who provide comprehensive information related to the most important lipid components used in functional foods and nutraceuticals.

An extremely thorough introduction written by functional food market expert John Young (Leatherhead Food Research Association) provides an overview of the history, definitions and trends underlying the growth in the category of functional foods. The global market and specific examples of the use of lipids in diary products, functional margarines and spreads, bakery and cereal products, soft drinks as well novel functional lipid ingredients are highlighted. Of critical importance to food formulators is the description of the market factors critical to the success of functional foods including issues related to safety, proof of efficacy, consumer education, market positioning, price and health claims strategies.

The science, health and functional properties of carotenoids are reviewed by Y.B. Che Man and C-P Tan in Chapter 2 of this text. Chapter 3 provides a comprehensive overview of tocopherols, tocotrienols and vitamin E by W.L. Stone and A. Papas. The information on other natural antioxidants including rice bran oil, sesame oil, rosemary extract and flavanoids that is presented in Chapter 4 by C. Hall, as well as the coverage of diacylglycerols in by H. Watanabe and N. Matsuo in Chapter 5, is of significance for the thorough presentation of the material.

Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of modified lipids is the focus of Chapter 6 written by U.T. Bornscheuer, M. Adamczak and M.M. Soumanou and in Chapter 7 P. Salo, I. Wester and A. Hopia address the area of the chemistry, health effects and commercial applications for phytosterols.

In recent years, significant scientific attention and clinical research has been focused on sources of `good fats' that can positively influence health. These fats are often referred to as `specialty oils'. In Chapter 8 the metabolism, biological significance and processing issues related to omega-3 fatty acids are explored by D. Li, O. Bode, H. Drummond and A.J. Sinclair. An interesting review is provided by B. Yang, F.D. Gunstone and H. Kallio of novel oils containing oleic, palmitoleic, gamma-linolenic and stearidonic acids, and the science related to conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is presented in the final chapter by C.E. Fernie

The information presented in Lipids for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals is timely and comprehensive, and offers all sectors of the industry and research community an excellent resource in this tremendously exciting and rapidly growing area of foods and nutrition. In particular, the text is essential for companies planning to develop and market lipid-based functional food products as it provides the information necessary to deal with the unique challenges of formulating with fats and oils.

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LIPIDS FOR FUNCTIONAL FOODS AND NUTRACEUTICALS

In his Preface to LIPIDS FOR FUNCTIONAL FOODS AND NUTRACEUTICALS, the editor, Professor Frank D. Gunstone, says:

LIPIDS FOR FUNCTIONAL FOODS AND NUTRACEUTICALS - BOOK REVIEWS