A bioactive compound is a compound that has an effect on a living organism, tissue or cell, usually demonstrated by
basic research
Basic research, also called pure research, fundamental research, basic science, or pure science, is a type of scientific research with the aim of improving scientific theories for better understanding and prediction of natural or other phenome ...
in vitro
''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', or ''in the glass'') Research, studies are performed with Cell (biology), cells or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in ...
or
in vivo
Studies that are ''in vivo'' (Latin for "within the living"; often not italicized in English) are those in which the effects of various biological entities are tested on whole, living organisms or cells, usually animals, including humans, an ...
in the laboratory. While dietary
nutrient
A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...
s are essential to life, bioactive compounds have not been proved to be essential as the body can function without them or because their actions are obscured by nutrients fulfilling the function.
Bioactive compounds lack sufficient evidence of effect or safety, and consequently they are usually unregulated and may be sold as
dietary supplement
A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement a person's diet by taking a pill (pharmacy), pill, capsule (pharmacy), capsule, tablet (pharmacy), tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients eithe ...
s.
Origin and examples
Bioactive compounds are commonly derived from
plants
Plants are the eukaryotes that form the kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria to produce sugars f ...
,
animal products, or can be synthetically produced. Examples of plant bioactive compounds are
carotenoid
Carotenoids () are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, archaea, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, corn, tomatoes, cana ...
s,
polyphenol
Polyphenols () are a large family of naturally occurring phenols. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include phenolic acids, flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some of which have been used historically as ...
s, or
phytosterol
Phytosterols are phytosteroids, similar to cholesterol, that serve as structural components of biological membranes of plants. They encompass plant sterols and stanol ester, stanols. More than 250 sterols and related compounds have been identified ...
s.
Examples in animal products are
fatty acid
In chemistry, in particular in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated and unsaturated compounds#Organic chemistry, saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an ...
s found in milk and fish. Other examples are
flavonoid
Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans.
Chemically, flavonoids ...
s,
caffeine
Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine chemical classification, class and is the most commonly consumed Psychoactive drug, psychoactive substance globally. It is mainly used for its eugeroic (wakefulness pr ...
,
choline,
coenzyme Q,
creatine
Creatine ( or ) is an organic compound with the nominal formula . It exists in various tautomers in solutions (among which are neutral form and various zwitterionic forms). Creatine is found in vertebrates, where it facilitates recycling of ...
, dithiolthiones,
polysaccharides
Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long-chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with wat ...
,
phytoestrogens
A phytoestrogen is a plant-derived xenoestrogen (a type of estrogen produced by organisms other than humans) not generated within the endocrine system, but consumed by eating plants or manufactured foods. Also called a "dietary estrogen", it i ...
,
glucosinolates, and
prebiotics.
[
]
In the diet
The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements proposed a definition of bioactives in the context of human nutrition
Human nutrition deals with the provision of essential nutrients in food that are necessary to support human life and good health. Poor nutrition is a chronic problem often linked to poverty, food security, or a poor understanding of nutrition ...
as "compounds that are constituents in foods and dietary supplements, other than those needed to meet basic human nutritional needs, which are responsible for changes in health status", although a range of other definitions are used.
Traditionally, dietary recommendations, such as DRIs used in Canada and the United States, focused on deficiencies causing diseases, and therefore emphasized defined essential nutrients.[ ]Dietary fiber
Dietary fiber (fibre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical co ...
, for example, is a non-essential dietary component without a DRI, yet is commonly recommended for the diet to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
. Frameworks for developing DRIs for bioactive compounds have to establish an association with health, safety and non-toxicity.[
As of 2021, there are no dietary recommendations in North America or Europe for bioactives, except for fiber. However, there are ongoing discussions whether further bioactives should be included in future dietary guidelines.]
See also
* Phytochemistry
Phytochemistry is the study of phytochemicals, which are chemicals derived from plants. Phytochemists strive to describe the structures of the large number of secondary metabolites found in plants, the functions of these compounds in human and ...
References
Further reading
*
{{Authority control
Biomolecules by physiological function
Nutrition
Nutritional science