Functionality of Supplements and Anti-aging: Functionality of Supplements—Immunity and Allergies

The market for health foods, including supplements, has grown to a massive scale exceeding one trillion yen. Focusing on the functionality of immunity and allergies, there are no notifications related to anti-allergy functions in the database of functional food labeling information publicly available from the Consumer Affairs Agency based on the functional food labeling system, but plasma lactic acid bacteria and L-92 lactic acid bacteria, which have the mechanism of “activation of dendritic cells,” have been notified as functional foods related to immune function. In addition, in September 2021, the Japan Anti-Aging Association presented a “view on the scientific basis for the functionality of immune-related functions,” and in addition to the already accepted activation of dendritic cells, the usefulness of phagocyte activity, natural killer (NK) cell activity, T cell (CD4 T cell) proliferation/activation, secretory type IgA antibody concentration, etc., as immune indicators was shown, and further expansion is expected in the future. In this section, we would like to introduce representative supplements and functional ingredients related to immunity and anti-allergies.