509
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
C. Egbuna, G. Dable-Tupas (eds.), Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42319-3_23
Chapter 23
Medical Foods and Infant Formulas
Andrew G. Mtewa , Mushagalusa F. Kasali, Tamirat Bekele,
and Bonniface Obura
23.1 Introduction
Medical foods are specially prepared food products that are intended to be consumed by patients in order to mitigate effects of or a particular disease as a prescription. The term “medical foods” is usually mistaken for “nutraceuticals”, “functional
foods”, “medical nutrition” (Davey et al. 2015) and nutraceuptides which are basically designed to supplement dietary needs of patients on medication. They are
formulated from different plant bases of which grains constitute a large portion.
These foods are regulated to avoid causing toxicity in patients and all analytical test
documents and records need to be available and traceable at all times. Shelf life and
clinical trials are important components that require care and precision for the sake
of validity of safety and efficacy profiles of the products. These foods have been
very helpful during and in post-war recovery periods in refugee camps.
A. G. Mtewa (*)
Chemistry Department, Malawi Institute of Technology, Malawi University of Science
and Technology, Thyolo, Malawi
e-mail: amtewa@must.ac.mw
M. F. Kasali
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmacology,
Official University of Bukavu, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo
T. Bekele
Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ambo University,
Ambo, Ethiopia
B. Obura
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Lira University, Lira, Uganda
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
C. Egbuna, G. Dable-Tupas (eds.), Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42319-3_23
Chapter 23
Medical Foods and Infant Formulas
Andrew G. Mtewa , Mushagalusa F. Kasali, Tamirat Bekele,
and Bonniface Obura
23.1 Introduction
Medical foods are specially prepared food products that are intended to be consumed by patients in order to mitigate effects of or a particular disease as a prescription. The term “medical foods” is usually mistaken for “nutraceuticals”, “functional
foods”, “medical nutrition” (Davey et al. 2015) and nutraceuptides which are basically designed to supplement dietary needs of patients on medication. They are
formulated from different plant bases of which grains constitute a large portion.
These foods are regulated to avoid causing toxicity in patients and all analytical test
documents and records need to be available and traceable at all times. Shelf life and
clinical trials are important components that require care and precision for the sake
of validity of safety and efficacy profiles of the products. These foods have been
very helpful during and in post-war recovery periods in refugee camps.
A. G. Mtewa (*)
Chemistry Department, Malawi Institute of Technology, Malawi University of Science
and Technology, Thyolo, Malawi
e-mail: amtewa@must.ac.mw
M. F. Kasali
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmacology,
Official University of Bukavu, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo
T. Bekele
Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ambo University,
Ambo, Ethiopia
B. Obura
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Lira University, Lira, Uganda