Food Supplements: Botanicals

Food supplements are concentrated sources of nutrients or functional/physiological ingredients, whose purpose is to integrate the diet. They can contain several class of compounds, including plants and plant derivatives, which are usually called “botanicals”. They are consumed by people who wish to improve or maintain their health. Unfortunately, the consumer is not always informed about the specific properties of botanicals and often ignores the fact that they can be responsible for adverse effects. This is the reason why several national and international safety committees are involved in assessing risk and benefit balance of these products to protect consumers' health. The knowledge concerning botanicals' healthy properties derive primarily from the tradition of use, since they have been used for centuries (if not millennia) to maintain the well-being of the population. Supplements containing plants are foods and therefore they must comply with food legislation in terms of production and quality controls. On the other hand, due to their particular composition, the food supplements containing botanicals, require specific controls in terms of 1) concentration of active molecules (there are sometimes limits established), and 2) presence of natural toxic compounds or xenobiotics.