VASCONCELOS, E. S. S.; VASCONCELOS, Eliane Santos de Souto.
Abstract:
The term nutraceuticals was created in the 1980s to designate foods or parts of
them (metabolites) that have proven medicinal properties and, when consumed
routinely, bring several benefits in the prevention and treatment of diseases.
While nutricosmetics are nutritional supplements based on bioactive
compounds with different functions and aesthetic benefits for the skin, hair and
nails. This study brings a general approach to the use and importance of
nutraceuticals and nutricosmetics for aesthetic health and the performance of
the pharmacist, through an integrative review of the current literature, with
articles and/or publications from the last 10 years (2012-2022), making a critical
analysis of studies available in electronic databases such as Medline, Pubmed,
Lilacs, Scielo, Google academic, using as descriptors: nutraceuticals, dietary
supplements, aging, pharmaceutical performance; carried out in order to group
and synthesize information about the topic addressed, initially 102 articles were
selected, of which 82 were used in the work. The results found in the analyzed
articles indicate that nutraceutical is a broad term used to define a wide variety
of foods and bioactive compounds, providing health benefits in the prevention
and/or treatment of chronic diseases, while nutricosmetics, a subgroup, are
related to care and aesthetic benefits. There is still a need for more safety and
efficacy studies on these products, and quality specifications to support their
claims. The pharmacist has great importance for clarifying and ensuring the
correct use of medicines or food supplements, which leads to reduced risks for
the patient. It can be concluded the importance of nutraceuticals and
nutricosmetics for health, as well as their benefits for aesthetic issues, however,
their use must be done in a rational way because there is still no specific
legislation that guarantees a totally safe use.
