The Indian nutraceutical industry should tap the potential of herbal ingredients and Ayurveda methods to grab the fast growing global dietary, health supplements market, said experts.

In the International conference on nutraceuticals, functional foods and dietary supplements organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in association with the Health Foods and Dietary Supplements Association (HADSA), the experts from Ayurveda industry illustrated the phyto-pharmaceutical uses and quality of various plants and spices.

The relation between the Prakruti (body constitution) and the modern genomics could be explored more for preparing newer health supplements with a larger potential in the mushrooming nutraceutical and dietary supplement products, said Ranjit Puranik, chief executive officer, Shree Dhootpapeshwar Ltd and the general secretary of Ayurveda Drug Manufacturers Association (ADMA).

In a session conducted on 'Developing value added products from traditional source', he commented that the nutritional value of herbal materials like amla (Indian gooseberry), pomegranate, jambu (jaman), grapes and karela (bitter gourd) offers immense potential for the Indian companies to explore for next several years. The beauty secrets described in Ayurveda can offer a wider market for the Indian cosmetics and nutraceuticals industry to cash in on. More research is needed on these segments to leverage the potential and the industry should combine the modern methods of product preparation on this basic research, he added.

"Once the usefulness of the ingredients is proved, then comes the age of combinations. The experimental combination of modern medical methods with the traditional medicines with a proven value will have more market potential. Already, phyto-chemicals have become the emerging market trend in the global nutraceuticals and dietary supplements market," said Puranik.

Speaking on the 'Ayurnutraceuticals: R&D Path', Dr Ashok Vaidya, eminent Ayurvedic scientist and director of SPARC, said that the properties of ayurveda drugs and ingredients should be studied and utilised by the Indian companies to bring new products. He added that the effectiveness of ayurvedic ingredients is studied under the New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NIMITLI) of central government.

The Indian spices, recorded as a US$ One billion industry with an exports of more than 4,44,000 tonne per annum, has been studied for its nutraceutical quality, according to Shamina Aziz, Research Scientist, Indian Institute of Spices Research. The spices like black pepper, tamarind and turmeric have medicinal properties attributed in studies conducted in the institute. Especially, black pepper has shown analgesic, antipyretic, anti inflammatory and anti oxidant properties, she informed.

In the inaugural address, Shiv Basant, joint secretary, Dept of Ayush, said that the country have a natural comparative advantage in exploring herbs and natural products for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical benefits. The nutraceutical, food and dietary supplements industry in the country have an opportunity to have our legitimate share of market in the relevant global segments. The promotion of herbal exports will also help the poor farmers and tribals sustaining on the herbal and natural raw material production and collection and the government has its policy to support the exports, he added.

However, the nutraceutical industry in the country is currently in a nascent stage and has to emerge by disseminating adequate awareness to the consumers, according to Dr R B Smarta, managing director, Interlink Consultant Company and Sanjay Pai, chief financial officer, Plethico Pharmaceuticals. Dr Smarta averred that the awareness on nutraceuticals among consumers is very low and even most of the people aware about the segment has a vague idea on nutraceuticals. He added that the companies should first try to spread awareness on the benefits of nutraceuticals and should build up a market of their own in the country to grow in the segment.

The Indian consumer is not concerned about the preventive medication methods available in the market at present. Once the awareness is there, the Indian market would be more accessible for the nutraceutical companies, said Sanjay Pai. Plethico, which entered into global nutraceuticals market by acquiring the US-based Natrol Inc in the beginning of 2008, is planning to expand its operations by setting up a manufacturing unit at Dubai. The company will also launch some of its sport nutrition, hair care and super dietary products in India from the end of the current financial year, he added.

The one day conference has covered various aspects of sourcing raw materials, manufacturing, quality assurance and marketing methods for nutraceuticals industry. Ajith Singh, president, HADSA, Byron Johnson, chairman, International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations (IADSA), Dhanraj Khamatkar, commissioner, Maharasthra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and S C Agrawal, chief executive officer, Chhattisgarh State Medicinal Plant Board (CSMPB) initiated the discussions in the inaugural address.