In recent years there is a growing interest in nutraceuticals which provide health benefits and are alternative to modern medicine. Nutrients, herbals and dietary supplements are major constituents of nutraceuticals which make them instrumental in maintaining health, act against various disease conditions and thus promote the quality of life. The explosive growth, research developments, lack of standards, marketing zeal, quality assurance and regulation will play a vital role in its success or failure. In India the most common forms of functional foods and nutraceuticals are available as traditional Indian Ayurvedic Medicines (IAM); these are marketed under different brand names. India is the home of a large number of medicinal herbs, spices and tree species that have a substantially large domestic market with no major foreign competition at present. However, it is important to note that there are no strict pharmaceutical regulations on Ayurvedic and nutraceutical health products in India. In india and china have large populations, in particular in rural, remote and inaccessible areas which are totally dependent upon herbal remedies and other naturally available bioresources which they use to treat common ailments, and as general preventive and protective medications. In the global marketplace nutraceuticals and functional foods have become a multi-billion dollar industry and estimates within Canada suggest that the Canadian nutraceutical and functional food industry has potential to grow to $50 billion US. Japan is the second largest market in the world for nutraceutical products after the United States. Its nutraceutical market has exhibited a steady average growth rate of 9.6% per annum.
