Herbs and spices

Peer-reviewed | Manuscript received: April 15, 2016 | Revision accepted: August 1, 2016

Overview on possible health-promoting effects

Introduction

Herbs and spices are understood in general as plants or parts of plants, which are used either fresh or dried for food preparation because of their odor or flavoring properties [1]. Despite them being used for medical purposes for centuries, their health-promoting contribution to nutrition has received little attention so far, due to their low consumption levels [1, 2].

Herbs and spices contain a number of bioactive ingredients which are potentially antioxidative, antiinflammatory or anti-cancerogenic (• Table 1). It is therefore assumed that they may possibly contribute to the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, whose origin, for example, are inflammatory and oxidative processes [3].

Summary

In traditional folk medicine, herbs and spices have been used for centuries against diseases of all kinds. However, their contribution to the promotion and maintenance of health has yet hardly been considered due to the usually low consumption levels. Yet they contain a variety of bioactive ingredients (e. g. polyphenols), which can counteract cardiovascular diseases due to their antioxidant potential. This article presents the current state of research on the influence of selected herbs and spices on important cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, oxidative stress, inflammation, type 2 diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia). In addition, studies on chemopreventive effects are considered.

Keywords: herbs, spices, hypertension, atherosclerosis, inflammation, oxidative stress, diabetes mellitus type 2, hyperlipidemia, cancer

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