ROLE OF TRADITIONAL SPICES

Herbs and spices have been used for generations by humans as food and to

treat ailments. Scientific evidence is accumulating that many of these

herbs and spices do have medicinal properties that alleviate symptoms or

prevent disease. A growing body of research has demonstrated that the

commonly used herbs and spices such as garlic, black cumin, cloves,

cinnamon, thyme, allspices, bay leaves, mustard, and rosemary, possess

antimicrobial properties that, in some cases, can be used therapeutically.

Other spices, such as saffron, a food colorant; turmeric, a yellow colored

spice; tea, either green or black, and flaxseed do contain potent

phytochemicals, including carotenoids, curcumins, catechins, lignan

respectively, which provide significant protection against cancer. This

review discusses recent data on the antimicrobial and chemopreventive

activities of some herbs and spices and their ingredients.

Spices exert several beneficial physiological effects including the anti-diabetic effect like short-term

hypoglycemia and long-term improved glucose tolerance activities. A number of condiments and

spices including pepper, asafetida, aloes, ocimum, and eugenol have been ascribed a hypoglycemic

action in normal as well as experimentally induced diabetic animal models, as also in humans. Recent

studies have, on the basis of animal experimentation as well as clinical trials, studied the effects of

spices and their extracts or active constituents in the treatment of diabetes. Fenugreek seeds, garlic,

onion, turmeric, cumin seeds, ginger, mustard, curry leaves, and coriander have been reported to

possess potential anti-diabetic agents. A comprehensive, but detailed discussion of the hypoglycemic

effect on these spices is as follows: Cinnamon and its various spices display insulin-potentiating
activity, in vitro, in cinnamon spice and its phenolic extracts. Cinnamon supplementation may thus be

important to in vivo glycemic control and insulin sensitivity in humans, not only as an immediate

effect, but also in sustaining it for 12 hours. It also significantly delays gastric emptying and profoundly

lowers postprandial glycemic response, without any significant effect on the repletion. Oral

administration of cumin seeds for six weeks to diabetic rats resulted in a significant reduction in blood

glucose and body weight. Curry leaves and mustard: the results of the effect of curry or bay leaf

supplementation on lipid glycated protein and amino acids in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

patients indicates a transient reduction in fasting and postprandial blood sugar levels, with no

appreciable change in other parameters. Both curry leaves and mustard show a significant

hypoglycemic action in experimental rats. There is an increase in the concentration of hepatic

glycogen and glycogenesis, as is evident from the decreased activity of glycogen phosphorylase, and

gluconeogenic enzymes. Many enzymes of the liver, including gluconeogenic, enzymes, have been

reported to be affected by spices both in vitro as well as in vivo, in experimental animals. The use of

fenugreek seeds has shown a hypoglycemic effect in NIDDM subjects. Incorporation of fenugreek in

the diet produces a significant fall in fasting blood glucose and improvement in glucose tolerance, by

improving peripheral glucose utilization. Both garlic and onion have been found to possess

hypoglycemic activity. Sumac and black cumin, investigate the hypoglycemic mechanism, and the

inhibition of a glycoside hydrolase-alpha amylase may have interest in the treatment and prevention

of hyperglycemia and diabetes as well as dyslipidemia and obesity. Administration of turmeric or

curcumin to alloxan diabetic rats reduces the blood sugar, hemoglobin, and glycosylated hemoglobin

levels. Turmeric and curcumin supplementation also reduces the oxidative stress encountered by

these diabetic rats. Moreover, the activity of sorbitol dehydrogenase, which catalyzes the conversion

of sorbitol to fructose, is lowered significantly on treatment with turmeric or curcumin.

Anti-inflammatory activity of extracts from fruits, herbs and spices

Inflammation plays an important role in various diseases with high prevalence within populations

such as rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis and asthma. Here we demonstrate the anti-inflammatory

activity of various fruits, herbs and spices in a lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophage model.

These compounds acted by reduction of pro-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-6 or tumour necrosis factor

(TNF)-alpha production, enhancement of anti-inflammatory IL-10 production, or reduction of

cyclooxygenase-2 or inducible nitric oxide synthase expression. The highest anti-inflammatory

potential was detected with chili pepper. Among the plants that improved the secreted cytokine

profile were allspice, basil, bay leaves, black pepper, licorice, nutmeg, oregano, sage and thyme. The

compounds apigenin, capsaicin, chrysin, diosmetin, kämpferol, luteolin, naringenin, quercetin and

resveratrol moderately reduced IL-6 and TNF-alpha secretion. Resveratrol and rosmarinic acid

increased secretion of IL-10. Our findings further the idea that a diet rich in fruits, herbs and spices

may contribute to the reduction of the inflammatory response and related diseases.

The role of spices and lactic acid bacteria as antimicrobial agent to extend the shelf life of metata ayib

(traditional Ethiopian spiced fermented cottage cheese)

Tsehayneh Geremew, Ameha Kebede, Berhanu Andualem

Journal of food science and technology 52 (9), 5661-5670, 2015

Spices and lactic acid bacteria have natural antimicrobial substances and organic compounds having

antagonistic activity against microorganisms. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of

spices and lactic acid bacteria as antimicrobial agent to extend the shelf life of metata ayib.

Antimicrobial activities of spices and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) filtrates were determined by agar well
diffusion method against E. coli, S. aureus, S. flexneri and S. peumoniae. Aantimicrobial activity of

garlic was found to be the most effective against all the tested pathogens. Inhibition zones of garlic

extract against all pathogens was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) greater than the remaining spice extracts.

Inhibition zones (12.50 ± 1.00 to 15.50 ± 1.00 mm) of ginger and R. graveolens ethanol extracts against

all tested pathogens were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) greater than the remaining solvent extracts.

Inhibition zone of O. basilicum ethanol extract against all pathogenic bacteria was significantly (p ≤ 

0.05) greater than hexane and acetone extracts. Lactobacillus isolates were shown the highest

antimicrobial activity than the other LAB isolates against all pathogens.