Abstract

Eating habits and trends in food production and consumption have health, environmental and social impacts. The awareness on functional foods and nutraceuticals is very meager among all age groups. Functional Foods fill the space between ordinary foods aimed to maintain adequate nutrition status. A functional food can be similar to conventional food.

Conventional food is consumed as part of a usual diet and beyond the nutritional functions they also have physiological benefits and reduce the risk of chronic disease that is they contain bioactive compound. Nutraceuticals are defined as ‘A substance that gives medical or health benefits, that benefits are from food or part of food including the prevention and treatment of disease’. The mechanism for prevention of cancer by lycopene may be related to the compound’s role as an antioxidant and as a modulator of gene expression. Garlic is one of the most widely used traditional culinary herbs in the world, and it has long been noted for its medicinal virtues, including antibacterial activity. The intact garlic bulb contains an amino acid called alliin, which is converted to allicin by an enzyme called allinase when garlic bulbs are cut or crushed. The characteristic aroma and taste of garlic are due to an abundance of organosulfur compounds.