Functional ingredients of food, also known as functional factors, efficacy ingredients and physiologically active ingredients, are substances that can regulate human body functions by activating enzyme activity or other means. It is the component that really plays a physiological regulating role in health food or functional food, and the substance enriched with these components is called the base material of functional ingredients of food.

Classification of functional ingredients

1. Functional polysaccharides;
2, functional sweeteners;
3, functional fats and oils;
4, amino acids, peptides and proteins;
5, Vitamins and vitamin analogs;
6, Minerals and trace elements;
7, Microecological regulators;
8, Free radical scavengers.

The role of functional ingredients

1.Functional polysaccharide
Polysaccharide refers to a class of polymer substances formed by the polymerization of more than 10 monosaccharides, belonging to carbohydrates. Functional polysaccharides are usually divided into two categories: dietary fiber and active polysaccharides, and active polysaccharides can be divided into animal polysaccharides (chitosan), plant polysaccharides (tea polysaccharides, ginseng polysaccharides, astragali polysaccharides, goji berry polysaccharides and so on), and microbial polysaccharides (fungal and cellular polysaccharides and so on).

Dietary fiber can promote human intestinal peristalsis, preventing constipation and intestinal cancer; can lower cholesterol, preventing atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease; can delay and inhibit the digestion and absorption of sugar, can regulate the level of blood glucose; can improve immunity, increase the sense of satiety, remove heavy metal ions, etc., can prevent breast cancer, obesity, gallstones and so on. Active polysaccharides have the effect of improving immunity, improving glucose metabolism, regulating blood lipid levels, anti-tumor, anti-mutagenic, anti-bacterial viruses and so on.

2. Functional sweeteners
Functional monosaccharides are mainly fructose and L-monosaccharides; functional oligosaccharides are: fructose, cottonseed sugar, lactone sugar, oligofructose, oligosaccharides, oligosaccharides, oligogalactose, oligomerization of isomaltose, etc.; functional sugar alcohols are: sorbitol / mannitol, maltitol, xylitol and so on.

Powerful sweeteners also belong to the functional sweeteners, its sweetness is usually dozens to tens of thousands of times the sucrose. Some common ones are: sweetener, stevioside, sweetener, ansamil, sodium saccharin and alli sweet.

The metabolism of fructose is not controlled by insulin in the body and can be consumed by diabetics; it is not easy to caries. Functional oligosaccharide can not be digested and absorbed, low-calorie; can be used by probiotics in the intestinal tract; is a water-soluble dietary fiber, can prevent constipation; anti-caries; promote mineral absorption. Functional sugar alcohols in the body metabolism has nothing to do with insulin, no caries effect, similar to the role of dietary fiber.

3. Functional lipids
Functional lipids is a class of lipids with special physiological functions, including polyunsaturated fatty acids and phospholipids. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are: linoleic acid, γ-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA); phospholipids are lecithin, brain phospholipids, inositol phospholipids, serine phospholipids and so on.

Essential fatty acids are an important part of phospholipids, which are vital for brain development; they can lower cholesterol levels, prevent atherosclerosis, inhibit the formation of arterial thrombosis, reduce acute myocardial infarction, and prevent hypertension. Arachidonic acid is the precursor of prostaglandin (PG), with physiological regulatory functions.

4. Amino acids, peptides and proteins
Functional amino acids are mainly essential amino acids and conditionally essential amino acids, such as taurine, etc.; biologically active peptides: blood pressure-lowering peptide, antimicrobial peptide, etc.; active proteins such as immunoglobulin, lactoferrin, lysozyme, peroxidase and so on.

Amino acids are necessary for human growth and development and maintenance of normal metabolism, and must be ingested from the diet; taurine is particularly important for the growth and intellectual development of infants, improve the function of the body (such as vision), improve immunity; γ-amino butyric acid has an anxiolytic, lower blood pressure, and promote liver and brain function.

Biologically active peptides have a variety of human physiological regulatory functions, promote immunity, regulate hormones, antibacterial and antiviral, lowering blood pressure and blood lipids and other effects. Active proteins have some special physiological functions, such as immunoglobulin can enhance the body’s defense ability, lactoferrin has the ability to bind and transport iron.

5. Vitamins and their analogs
Vitamins include fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K), water-soluble vitamins (B and C). Vitamin analogs are vitamins that have some of the properties of vitamins but are not essential, including inositol, L-carnitine, penicillin, and bioflavonoids.

The physiology of vitamins is not identical, but in general they have the ability to maintain the body’s normal functions, promote body development, and provide a variety of health benefits.
Vitamin analogs, on the other hand, have a general role in regulating body functions, promoting body development, and enhancing immunity. Vitamin analogs, on the other hand, regulate body functions and enhance vitality.
6. Minerals and trace elements
Minerals mainly refer to macronutrients (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium, chlorine, sulfur, etc.) and trace elements (mainly essential trace elements, including zinc, iron, copper, manganese, chromium, nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, vanadium, iodine, silicon, selenium, fluorine, strontium, tin, etc.) that are needed by the human body.

Minerals are important components of human tissues (e.g., bones, teeth, etc.), and are involved in the metabolism of substances and the regulation of body functions. Trace elements are also involved in substance metabolism and regulation of body functions.

7. Microecological regulators
Microecological regulators refer to probiotics and substances that promote the growth of probiotics that can adjust the microecological balance of the human body and improve the health of the host, including probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics. Probiotics are active microorganisms that are beneficial to the host by colonizing the body and changing the composition of the flora in a certain part of the host. Prebiotics are substances that improve and promote the growth of probiotics in the body. Preparations that combine probiotics and prebiotics are known as synbiotics.

Probiotics have the effect of promoting the digestion and absorption of nutrients, adjusting intestinal function, improving body immunity, lowering blood pressure, lowering cholesterol, relieving allergies, and inhibiting tumors.

8. Free radical scavenger
Under normal circumstances, free radicals in the human body are in a dynamic balance between production and removal. Free radical scavengers can remove excessive free radicals generated in the body’s metabolic process, and are therefore an important active substance that can enhance human health. Free radical scavengers include antioxidants (VE, VC, β-carotene, reduced glutathione) and antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase SOD, catalase CAT, glutathione peroxidase GSH-PX).

Free radical scavengers can reduce the damage of free radicals to life macromolecules and tissue cells, and have the effect of defending against diseases and slowing down aging.