Perspectives on the 21st century development of functional foods: bridging Chinese medicated diet and functional foods

Functional foods, also known as nutraceuticals, medical foods or nutritional foods, are driving food markets around the world and are expected to be one of the emerging trends for the food industry in the new millennium. The concept of functional foods is rooted in a tradition, particularly in Asia, where people have always believed that a balanced diet and some herbal foods are therapeutic. However, while extensive studies in biochemistry and immunology, as well as clinical trials, have been conducted on selected functional foods or ingredients, the scientific features of most traditional herbals remain almost unknown. However, the fastest growing food market in the United States is that of herbal-based nutraceuticals such as ginseng, garlic and medical mushrooms. This review describes different aspects of functional foods and the Chinese medicated diet on the basis of current knowledge, discusses the building blocks for the science of functional foods and proposes a possible way to fuse a Chinese medicated diet into functional foods.