Cross-cultural comparisons and epidemiological studies form the basis for understanding the role of dietary factors in disease etiology. Research activities of nutritionists and food scientists have historically run parallel to those of phytochemists, pharmacognocists and natural product chemists. While vitamins, minerals, aminoacids, carbohydrates and lipids are compounds of primary interest to food chemists, natural product chemistry focuses on compounds as potential sources of new pharmaceuticals and other industrial chemicals. An overlap of interests of food chemists and pharmacognocists resulted in the recognition that alkaloids, saponins, polyphenolics and other compounds have positive and complex roles in the physiological processes affecting human health. A growing body of epidemiological data linking diets high in plant foods with reduced incidence of chronic degenerative diseases such as non-insulin-dependant diabetes mellitus, cancer and coronary heart disease gave impetus for the convergence of interests of nutritionists and phytochemists. Thus the role of non-nutritive plant constituents consumed on a routine basis as normal mediators of health is recently recognized. There is now increasing interest in natural herbal home remedies, which have been effectively used for thousands of years for curing diseases and sustaining good health. Foods are now being examined intensively for added physiological benefits, which may reduce chronic disease risk or otherwise optimize health. Such a global awakening coupled with an ageing health-conscious population, changes in food regulations, numerous technological advances and a marketplace ripe for the introduction of health-promoting products, coalesced to create a trend for a category of products referred to as health foods, phytomedicines, dietary supplements, nutraceuticals, functional foods, fortified foods and organic foods.