Medicinal Spice And Condiment Crops

Spices are used in small quantities to add flavor, aroma, color, and texture in food preparation. However, spices and condiments have also been recognized as having medicinal value. They have been used traditionally as curative and preventive agents, the bioactive compounds obtained from these plants are used in herbal drug formulations in modern times. Medicinal Spice and Condiment Crops provides a comprehensive overview on the medicinal properties of spices and condiments with focus on various phytochemicals derived from them. KEY FEATURES: • Examines spices and condiments with respect to their biology, diversity, distribution, and pharmacological values. • Explores the scientific validations of the therapeutic potentials of spice and condiment plant species. • Discusses the bioactive agents involved in alleviating symptoms of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, ulcers, skin disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases. • Explains specific medicinal features of spice and condiment-producing plant species inspiring research, discovery, and safe herbal drug formulation. A volume in the Exploring Medicinal Plants series, this book is useful for plant scientists, economic botanists, those who work with herbal and complementary medicine, as well as people working in the pharmaceutical industry.

Turmeric has been used as a medicine, a condiment, and a dye since at least 600 B.C., while ginger has been used extensively throughout history for its medicinal purposes. The Agronomy and Economy of Turmeric and Ginger brings these two important plants together in one reference book, explaining their history, production techniques, and nutritional and medicinal properties in detail. This book is intuitively organized by plant and use, allowing quick access to information. It puts the uniquely Indian use and history of turmeric and ginger plants into a global context of production and economic aspects. It explores the plants from a botanical perspective, and goes into details of their chemical composition as well. Rounding out the book are chapters on disease and pest control issues. The book is a valuable resource for those involved in the production and marketing of these plants, as well as those looking for more information on the medicinal and nutritional properties of turmeric and ginger. The first book to bring together extensive information about turmeric and ginger Incorporates medicinal, nutritional and agricultural aspects of the two plants Offers a global perspective

The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Spices provides comprehensive coverage of the taxonomy, botany, chemistry, functional properties, medicinal uses, culinary uses and safety issues relating to over 250 species of herbs and spices. These herbs and spices constitute an important agricultural commodity; many are traded globally and are indispensable for pharmaceuticals, flavouring foods and beverages, and in the perfumery and cosmetic industries. More recently, they are increasingly being identified as having high nutraceutical potential and important value in human healthcare. This encyclopedia is an excellent resource for researchers, students, growers and manufacturers, in the fields of horticulture, agriculture, botany, crop sciences, food science and pharmacognosy.

The term spices and condiments applies to such natural plant or vegetable products and mixtures thereof, used in whole or ground form, mainly for imparting flavor, aroma and piquancy to foods and also for seasoning of foods beverages like soups. The great mystery and beauty of spices is their use, blending and ability to change and enhance the character of food. Spices and condiments have a special significance in various ways in human life because of its specific flavours, taste, and aroma. Spices and condiments play an important role in the national economies of several spice producing, importing and exporting countries. India is one of the major spice producing and exporting countries. Most of the spices and herbs have active principles in them and development of these through pharmacological and preclinical and clinical screening would mean expansion of considerable opportunities for successful commercialization of the product. Spices can be used to create these health promoting products. The active components in the spices phthalides, polyacetylenes, phenolic acids, flavanoids, coumarines, triterpenoids, serols and monoterpenes are powerful tools for promoting physical and emotional wellness. India has been playing a major role in producing and exporting various perennial spices like cardamoms, pepper, vanilla, clove, nutmeg and cinnamon over a wide range of suitable climatic situations. To produce good quality spice products, attention is required not only during cultivation but also at the time of harvesting, processing and storing. Not as large as in the days when, next to gold, spices were considered most worth the risk of life and money. The trade is still extensive and the oriental demand is as large as ever. Some of the fundamentals of the book are definition of spices and condiments nomenclature or classification of spices and condiments, Indian central spices and cashew nut committee, origin, properties and uses of spices, forms, functions and applications of spices, trends in the world of spices, yield and nutrient uptake by some spice crops grown in sodic soil, tissue culture and in vitro conservation of spices, in vitro responses of piper species on activated charcoal supplemented media, soil agro climatic planning for sustainable spices production, potentials of biotechnology in the improvement of spice crops, medicinal applications of spices and herbs, medicinal properties and uses of seed spices, effect of soil solarization on chillies, spice oil and oleoresin from fresh/dry spices etc. The present book contains cultivation, processing and uses of various spices and condiments, which are well known for their multiple uses in every house all over world. The book is an invaluable resource for new entrepreneurs, agriculturists, agriculture universities and technocrats.

The term Spice and Condiments applies to natural plant or vegetable products or mixtures in whole or ground form, which are used for imparting flavour, aroma and piquancy to the food items. Spices and condiments are a major commercial crop in India, and earn a major part of foreign exchange annually. They have been the backbone of agricultural industry. The importance of spices and condiment in dietary, medicinal and other uses, and their commercial importance are immense. India is known the world over as the home of spices. Thus spices are an important group of agricultural goods, which are virtually indispensable in the culinary art. Spice processing includes different steps: spice cleaning, spice reconditioning and spice grinding. Some spices were also used for preserving food like meat for a year or more without refrigeration. In the 16th century cloves for instance were among the spices used to preserve food without refrigeration. Cloves contain a chemical called eugenol that inhibits the growth of bacteria. It is a natural antibiotic. It is still used to preserve food like Virginia Ham. Likewise later mustard and ground mustard were also found to have preservative qualities. India alone contributes 25 30 % of the total world trade in spices. It may be interesting to note that nine spices namely pepper ginger clove cinnamon cassia mace nutmeg pimento (allspice) and cardamom alone contributed as much as 90% of the total world trade. Pepper is the most important spice in the world and so also of India. This book basically deals with brief history of spices, uses of spices, world trade in spices area & production of spices in India, area and production of spices in India, major and minor spices of India, spice processing, quality issues with spices, bird chillies and Tabasco chillies, basil or sweet basil, seasoning blend duplication and tricks, sauces and gravies, snack seasonings, quality issues with spices, etc. This book is a single compendium which deals with all aspects and facts of spices and condiments which may meet the requirements of all those handling them at various stages, from harvesting to their end use. This book contains post harvest management, the potentials of genetic engineering, high production technology in spices with plantation and processing of various spices and condiments such as vanilla, turmeric, tamarind, saffron, black pepper, onion, mint, ginger, garlic, curry leaf, coriander etc.

Herbs and spices are among the most versatile and widely used ingredients in food processing. As well as their traditional role in flavouring and colouring foods, they have been increasingly used as natural preservatives and for their potential health-promoting properties, for example as antioxidants. Edited by a leading authority in the field, and with a distinguished international team of contributors, the Handbook of herbs and spices provides an essential reference for manufacturers wishing to make the most of these important ingredients. The first group of chapters looks at general issues including quality indices for conventional and organically produced herbs, spices and their essential oils. The main body of the handbook consists of over twenty chapters covering key spices and herbs from aniseed, bay leaves and black pepper to saffron, tamarind and turmeric. Each chapter covers key issues from definition and classification including: chemical structure cultivation post-harvest processing uses in food processing functional properties quality indices methods of analysis The Handbook of herbs and spices is a standard reference for all manufacturers using herbs and spices in their products.

Many plants have been used for centuries as sources of spices for culinary use. Recently there has been an upsurge of interest in diversifying the range of such spices and in their agronomy, as alternative crops, in both temperate and tropical countries. This book provides a scientific review and guide to the botany and agronomy of the major families of plants used for the production of spices. Contents include: world production and trade; and chapters on Cruciferae, Lauraceae, Leguminosae, Piperaceae, Solanaceae, Unbelliferae, Zingiberaceae, and Minor crops.