(Food-Beverage-News.Com, December 09, 2016 ) Bioactive ingredients refer to supplementary bio-molecules that are present in foods to adapt one or more metabolic progression for superior health. Bioactive food ingredients are typically found in multiple forms such as glycosylated, esterified, thiolyated, or hydroxylated. Bioactive food ingredients are useful for numerous metabolic activities and for beneficial effects in various diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease, macular degeneration and diabetes. Bioactive ingredients are also helpful in anemia, rickets and malnutrition, which normally occur due to lack of balance diet and insufficient intake of nutritional foods.
Some of the major bioactive ingredients include prebiotics, amino acids, Omega 3 & structured lipids, peptides & proteins, minerals, photochemical & plant extracts, vitamins, fibers & specialty carbohydrates and carotenoids & antioxidants. Different products which have bioactive ingredient include functional food, dietary supplements, beverages, personal care and animal nutrition. Further photochemical & plant extracts segment includes plant phenolics such as cathechins, isoflavones, anthocyanins, phenolic and acids. Antioxidants segment includes saponins in legumes, glucosinolates in cruciferous vegetables, lignans in flaxseed, terpenoids from citrus, barley, soy, berries and other fruit and vegetables and tannins found in a variety of plants, such as blackberries, coffee, tea, chocolate and red wine.
Asia Pacific is the largest producer and consumer of the bioactive ingredients and is expected to witness healthy growth rate in the upcoming years. It is followed by North America and Europe. Bioactive ingredients based dietary supplements hold the largest market share whereas the bioactive ingredient based functional beverages are expected to witness highest growth rate in the upcoming years.
Bioactive ingredients are used widely in alcoholic beverages manufacturing such as natural processes of brewing, distilling or winemaking of beer, laser, cider, high strength pre-mixes, liqueurs, sprit and wine. In food, bioactive ingredients such as inactive yeasts, yeast extracts, cell wall fractions and enriched yeasts are in use from very long time especially in food flavors, nutritional and vegetarian preparations and pet foods. Bioactive ingredients are increasing used in personal care products such as herbal creams, shampoos and soaps due to their ability of safeguarding and enhancing skin and hair. The increasing use in personal care products has widened the application market for bioactive ingredients. . In health care the medical properties of bioactive ingredient are used widely in nutraceuticals available in the form of tablets, pills and sometimes in form of powder and gel.
Consumer awareness towards prevention rather than cure, rising health care expenditure, increased incidence of lifestyle diseases, inadequate nutrition due to the current hectic lifestyle, rising consumers’ preference for natural and organic ingredients over synthetic ingredients, large population of baby boomers and increased co-prescription of bioactive ingredient with regular drug are some of the major drivers for the bioactive ingredient market. High markup cost, market skimming practices and lack of regulatory framework to validate heath claims are some of factors acting as major restraints for bioactive ingredients market.
Some of the major players operating in bioactive ingredients market include Cargill, Incorporated, Archer Daniels Midland Company, BASF SE, Koninklijke DSM N.V., AJINOMOTO CO., INC., Arla Foods, FMC Corporation, Ingredion Incorporated and Roquette.
