Research and Development for Bioavailable Functional Foods in Food Science

The tertiary functions, health benefits, and promoting functions of food have been well researched, and this knowledge has facilitated the development of supplements. Marketable supplements must include components that give users the bodily sensation that they are effective when taken. These components include highly bioavailable chemicals that are incorporated in their original form without undergoing modification and resistant to the catabolic decompositions in the body. These components can be prepared from rich sources other than food. Chemicals in food are limited by their intake amounts, and their incorporation also interfere with food ingredients such as dietary fiber. Supplements can supply large amounts of chemicals in a single dose, but also have the potential to produce chronic side effects. Research on tertiary food functions can provide consumers with valuable information, but how this knowledge can be applied to the development of supplements remains unclear.