Food Therapy: Origin, History and Future Prospects

Food therapy originated and practised in the age-old ethnomedicinal system as well as equally relevant as a part of the modern-day approach of complementary and alternative medicine. The efficacy of various plant, animal, and microbe-based foods has been already affirmed through various pharmacological experiments, pre-clinical and clinical trials. Several health benefits of these food products or supplements such as antihyperlipidemic, antidiabetic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, anti-platelet aggregation, neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, etc. have been reported. The bioactive metabolites extracted from these natural sources viz. peptides, protein hydrolysates, polysaccharides, fatty acids, secondary metabolites (terpenoids, flavonoids, phenolic compounds), etc. are also found to be potent in curing many human ailments like asthma, cough, and cold, diarrhoea, irritable bowel syndrome, rheumatism, and even cancer in addition with or by replacement of the conventional medicinal approaches with low-cost treatment options and lesser side effects. However, there are some challenges in the proper evaluation of toxicity and usage safety of these naturally-derived products to be used as food. Extensive research in this field will lead to a detailed understanding of the mechanism of action of these bioactive molecules and help to set up the regulations regarding the toxicity symptoms prior to their incorporation into foods.