Role of spices beyond food flavoring: Nutraceuticals with multiple health effects

Spices are esoteric food adjuncts that have been used as flavoring and coloring agents, and as preservatives for thousands of years. Spices have also been recognized to possess medicinal properties and their use in traditional systems of medicine has been on record for a long time. With the advancement in the technology of spices and on knowledge of the chemistry and pharmacology of their active principles, their health benefit effects were investigated more thoroughly in recent decades. Many health benefit attributes of these common food adjuncts have been recognized in the past few decades by pioneering experimental research involving both animal studies and human trials. These studies documented digestive stimulant action, hypolipidemic effect, antidiabetic influence, antilithogenic property, antioxidant potential, anti-inflammatory property, antimutagenic, and anticarcinogenic potential of spices. Among these, the hypocholesterolemic and antioxidant properties of a few specific spices have far-reaching nutraceutical value. These beneficial physiological effects also have the potential of possible therapeutic application in a variety of disease conditions. This review presents an overview of experimental evidence for the nutraceutical potential of spices.