Nutraceuticals and dietary supplements are versatile in nature and some may argue they have become a necessity of the modern world. In recent years, they moved into the mainstream, with growing awareness among consumers of the role they can play in amending and retaining physiological functions to maintain a healthy body.

Dietary supplements are aimed at a huge range of ailments, as they can contain antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, probiotics, fatty acids as well as various natural oils, which help in managing health issues. These include cholesterol, weight management, heart health, muscle pain, joint pain, blood sugar and sleep issues.

It may seem the development of a huge range of dietary supplements has emerged almost impossibly rapidly, but when we look more closely at nutraceutical ingredients and their properties, we can see thousands of years of history and the deep roots many of these ingredients have in our societies.

Many nutraceutical combinations have entered the global market by exploring claims made by different traditional practices. Traditional medicines have been in use across the globe for millennia, with Indian traditional medicine, Ayurveda, being among the foremost and oldest alternative medicine systems. In the past decade, interest in Ayurveda has grown worldwide. Nutraceutical manufacturers have been, and continue to be, engaged with this ancient system and developing products based off traditional Ayurvedic remedies and principles.

In this article, we will explore how innovations and current approaches are used to develop nutraceuticals from ancient Ayurvedic traditional medicines.