A Review on the Effects of Functional Food on Humans and Microorganisms

Abstract

Momoh Abdul Onoruoiza, Ayodele A. M and David-Momoh T. E

There is a surge in microbial resistance to some antibiotics used in disease treatment and unfavourable side effects of some commonly prescribed medications against infectious and non-infectious disorders. This calls for alternative unconventional treatment strategies that include functional foods. It has been observed that foods have health promotion, and this has been approved in the late 90s, which has also brought the concept of “food as medicines”. Functional foods have been discovered as a result of a particular nutrition preventative effects on disease which was first introduced in Japan. Functional food also known as “Nutraceuticals” are products that contain a variety of biologically substances and which when introduced in a regular diet, aid in the enhancement of the population’s well-being or lower risk of disease. Recently probiotics and fermented foods are known to possess nutraceutical effects due to their biochemical and biological constituents. Examples of common functional foods in Nigeria are sweet potato, yoghurts, ogi, garlic, bio-solution (collection of plant extracts) etc. They have been used to treat infectious diseases like diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid, covid, measles, etc. Presently, much attention is now on development of functional foods, their health benefits, bioavailability and the potential roles they play in subsiding diseases.

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