Regulatory Aspects and Bottlenecks for Nutraceuticals

Nutraceuticals help in the prevention and therapy of many illnesses. The market of nutraceutical is expanding and there is an increase in the demand of these products and these are classified into different categories by many countries based on their health claims. Several global organizations give definitions to nutraceuticals in their own way, but in general it is an isolated or purified product from natural sources and makes it ready in dosage form for its consumption in many diseases. The challenges in regulations regarding nutraceuticals occur at many levels, such as harmonization of law, fair trade practice, exposures to chemicals and contaminants, new technologies, and a legacy of regulatory practice. Other challenges are recognition of the genuine origin of raw materials, isolated compound’s purity, quality, lack of experimental evidence, erroneous advertisement, and interactions. Often, many challenges in the development of nutraceuticals are ignored due to lack of authoritative control. Although regulatory and legal challenges will always be there, dependence on the role of scientific research in the regulatory context becomes significant.