HERBS AND SPICES: WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT THEM???

Hi,you are most welcome. Today we will be looking at two popular things that people consumed a lot but they know little about the functions and it usefulness in the body system. Spices and herbs are used all over the world but only few of the people knows why herbs and spices perform tje functions that they do.This write up looks to help the reader understand what spices and herbs are and their functions in the body system. Trust me ...........You are going to learn a great deal.

WHAT ARE SPICES??

Spices are defined as Vegetable products or mixtures thereof, free from extraneous matter, used for flavouring, seasoning and imparting aroma in foods. Spices are also seen as Any of various aromatic vegetable productions as pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, allspice, ginger, cloves, etc., used in cookery to season and to flavour sauces, pickles, etc.; a vegetable condiment or relish, usually in the form of a powder; also, as condiments collectively.

WHAT ARE HERBS??

Herbs may be defined as the dried leaves of aromatic plants used to impart flavour and odour to foods with, sometimes, the addition of colour. The leaves are commonly traded separately from the plant stems and leaf stalks.

Now that you know the definitions, can we please move further

ARE THERE DIFFERENT CLASSES OF SPICES??

Yes of course,there are five different classes of spices which are widely known in the food industry, they are thus listed below:

Hot spices : Capsicum (chillies), Cayenne pepper, black and white peppers, ginger, mustard

Mild spices : Paprika, coriander

Aromatic spices:Allspice (pimento), cardamom, cassia, cinnamon, clove, cumin, dill, fennel, fenugreek, mace and nutmeg

Herbs:Basil, bay, dill leaves, marjoram, tarragon, thyme

Aromatic vegetables :Onion, garlic, shallot, celery

WHAT MAKES SPICES HAVE DISTINCT AROMA TO OTHER PLANT MATERIALS??

The reason why your spices are made of lovely aroma are due to the several flavour compound present in it.Important flavour compounds found in culinary herbs and other spice plants are:

Eugenol (allspice, cinnamon, cassia, clove)

Piperine (black pepper)

Gingerol (ginger)

Myristicin (nutmeg)

Turmerone (turmeric)

Vanillin (vanilla)

WHAT ARE SPICES AND HERBS GOOD FOR??

Herbs and spices are not just valuable in adding flavour to foods.They have several functional roles that they play such as:

Their antioxidant activity also helps to preserve foods from oxidative deterioration, increasing their shelf-life.Antioxidants also play a role in the body’s defence against cardiovascular disease.

Phenolic compounds such as flavonoids may help to protect against cardiovascular disease and intestinal cancer (black pepper, oregano, thyme and marjoram).

Gingerol in ginger is also an intestinal stimulant and promoter of the bioactivity of drugs.

Capsaicin in chilli pepper is an effective counter-irritant used in both pharmaceuticals and cosmetics

A number of spices have also been identified as having antimicrobial properties

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