Metabolic Importance of Bioactive Non-nutrient Dietary Compounds

In the middle of the 20 century started in Japan, investigations directed toward development of
healthy foods for special purpuses (FOSHU). A large number of investigations were done and results
were published. Compounds, mainly of vegetable origin, not yet recognized as classical nutrients
were named bioactive compounds, and the foods containing such compounds as functional foods
(Anon, 1993; De Felice, 1995; Childs, 1994; Hasler, 1996 and 1998; Arai, 1993; Arai, 1996; Sgarbieri
and Pacheco, 1999; Liu, 2004). It was demonstrated that some of these substances could act in the
animal and human metabolism in different manners such as: modulating agents in one or more
metabolic routs; interfering in the metabolism either accelerating or retarding the establishment and
progress of chronic non-transmittable diseases. Among these compounds are carotenoids,
polyphenols, sulphur-containing substances, among others, differently distributed in a large variety of
foods, mainly of plant origin (Mazza, 1998; Sgarbieri, 2020).