Nutraceutical

Nutraceutical is a marketing term used to imply a pharmaceutical effect from a compound or food product that has not been scientifically confirmed or approved to have clinical benefits. In the United States, nutraceuticals are unregulated, existing in the same category as dietary supplements and food additives by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under the authority of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

There are no internationally defined properties of nutraceuticals, and, due to the vague, undiscriminating evidence for nutraceutical products having biological effects, experts have proposed abandoning the term. The word "nutraceutical" is a portmanteau, blending the words "nutrition" and "pharmaceutical".