Natural Flavors in Functional Food Supplements

Functional foods are defined as products resembling traditional foods but possess demonstrated physiological benefits. Food supplements are the products that are taken orally and contain dietary ingredients for nutrition therapy and to counteract health problems. Functional foods are modified to increase the nutritional value. Functional foods are also termed as nutraceuticals. Natural flavoring agents are complex mixtures obtained from plants, herbs, spices, animals or microbial fermentations. Natural-derived flavors are safer, and cost of production is high, when compared to artificial flavors. Naturally identical flavors are the substances chemically isolated from aromatic raw material or synthetically obtained. Artificial flavoring means chemical similarity to natural flavoring substances. The flavor enhancer is a substance added to the food product to intensify or modify the flavor that are already present in food products and have no taste of their own. Sweeteners are agents that provide sweetness to the food and flavorable. Functional foods are an essential part of the food chain.