This book provides information on all aspects of the extraction of biological actives from plants and the development of dietary supplements and fortified food using herbal extracts. It briefly surveys the use of herbs in different civilizations, describes various aspects of the extraction process including selection, quality control, and optimization of extraction. It also gives an overview of the formulation of various types of tablets, capsules, and syrups as well as the benefits of fortified foods and beverages.

D. Suresh Kumar earned his PhD from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India, in 1977. In 1986, he joined the International Institute of Ayurveda, Coimbatore, as a research officer in the Department of Physiology. From 1986 to 2003, he conducted research on various aspects of Ayurveda. In collaboration with Dr. Y.S. Prabhakar, he proposed the first mathematical model for the ayurvedic concept of tridoa in the disease state. He also offered a novel definition for the ayurvedic class of medicine arka, based on his study of the Sanskrit text Arkaprakasa. From 2003 to 2012 he was senior scientist in the Research and Development Centre of Sami Labs Ltd., Bangalore, where he worked on various aspects of product development and developed processes for the extraction of five nutraceuticals. He is currently the head of the research and development laboratory at the Ayurveda consortium, Confederation for Ayurveda Renaissance Keralam Ltd., Koratty, Kerala.

Medical Herbalism through the Ages. Bioactives from Plants. Extraction of the Bioactives. Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Bioactives. Formulation of Food Supplements. Food and Beverages Fortified with Phytonutrients.