Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) as an Effective Tool for Determining the Morphology and Mechanism of Action of Functional Ingredients

ABSTRACT

Functional foods are not a brand novel idea. In the far east which is influenced by the Chinese culture, food and drugs were seen to have been composed of the same material. Traditional foods in Korea, Japan, China and Ghana are now known as health foods based on the definition of a functional food. Many of them contain a variety of functional components which includes resistant starch, oligosaccharides, sugar alcohols, peptides and proteins.

Diet, exercise and genetic factors are the most significant factors that contribute to health, according to a consumer study. The industry has studied diet and food technology to satisfy the needs of customers. Government was worried about the ageing of the country’s population and the consequent health care costs in Japan, the longest life span in the world hence the endorsement and publicity of functional foods.

This paper examines first the definitions of functional foods used at different locations. It also explores how electron microscopy has been used to determine the mechanism of action on of certain food products. We have said that ‘functional foods can be interpreted in many ways and it is confusing because all foods are not functional after all

The word “functional food” was introduced first in the studies of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science and Culture in 1984. In 1988, in order to recommend methods of regulating these foods, the Japan Ministry of Health and Welfare organized a meeting for Functional Foods. In 1995, the ILSI organized Istanbul’s First International Conference on Functional Food.

KEYWORDS:

• Functional Ingredients
• prebiotics and probiotics as sources of functional foods
• functional foods derivatives
• scanning electron microscopy
• morphological mechanism of functional foods

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the national first – class discipline program of Food Science and Technology and 13^th −5-year National Key Research and Development Project.

Disclosure statement

There are no conflicts of interest to declare.

Data Availability Statement

Data sharing not applicable - no new data was generated, as the article describes entirely theoretical research.