Critical Review on Nutritional, Bioactive, and Medicinal Potential of Spices and Herbs and Their Application in Food Fortification and Nanotechnology

Abstract

Medicinal or herbal spices are grown in tropical moist evergreen forestland, surrounding most of the tropical and subtropical regions of Eastern Himalayas in India (Sikkim, Darjeeling regions), Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, a few Central Asian countries, Middle East, USA, Europe, South East Asia, Japan, Malaysia, and Indonesia. According to the cultivation region surrounded, economic value, and vogue, these spices can be classified into major, minor, and colored tropical spices. In total, 24 tropical spices and herbs (cardamom, black jeera, fennel, poppy, coriander, fenugreek, bay leaves, clove, chili, cassia bark, black pepper, nutmeg, black mustard, turmeric, saffron, star anise, onion, dill, asafoetida, celery, allspice, kokum, greater galangal, and sweet flag) are described in this review. These spices show many pharmacological activities like anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, central nervous system, and antioxidant activities. Numerous bioactive compounds are present in these selected spices, such as 1,8-cineole, monoterpene hydrocarbons, γ-terpinene, cuminaldehyde, trans-anethole, fenchone, estragole, benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, piperine, linalool, malabaricone C, safrole, myristicin, elemicin, sinigrin, curcumin, bidemethoxycurcumin, dimethoxycurcumin, crocin, picrocrocin, quercetin, quercetin 4’-O-β-glucoside, apiol, carvone, limonene, α-phellandrene, galactomannan, rosmarinic acid, limonene, capsaicinoids, eugenol, garcinol, and α-asarone. Other than that, various spices are used to synthesize different types of metal-based and polymer-based nanoparticles like zinc oxide, gold, silver, selenium, silica, and chitosan nanoparticles which provide beneficial health effects such as antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-diabetic, enzyme retardation effect, and antimicrobial activity. The nanoparticles can also be used in environmental pollution management like dye decolorization and in chemical industries to enhance the rate of reaction by the use of catalytic activity of the nanoparticles. The nutritional value, phytochemical properties, health advantages, and both traditional and modern applications of these spices, along with their functions in food fortification, have been thoroughly discussed in this review

Childhood obesity and curcumin: a possible effective anti-obesity adjunct

“…Tsuda et al 37 similarly agree that curcumin has anti-obesity/anti-adipogenic and anti-diabetes biological properties among others, as also observed by Labban et al 38 and can be seen to have a high probability of preventing or reducing the magnitude of various obesity states through well defined biochemical signaling pathways and others that may be active even on preadipocytes, 39 as well as in reversing or modulating age and obesity associated metabolic diseases. 16,40 Most noteworthy is that it has also been shown that curcumin is a bioactive compound that may not only have multiple beneficial health and anti-oxidative effects, 41 but a beneficial effect on the course of SARS-CoV-2 infection and that might hence be helpful in the prevention of long-COVID complications-and others that are closely associated with cardiovascular diseases and obese states. 42,43 Dietary curcumin supplementation may also promote health in general, 4 while helping promote white adipose tissue browning found in obese states.…”

Effects of quercetin on the DNA methylation pattern in tumor therapy: an updated review

“…92 The encapsulation of quercetin in biopolymeric nanoparticles can also enhance its therapeutic value. 93 At present, the use of chitosan nanoparticles is a research hotspot, and in vitro and in vivo studies on animals have demonstrated that using chitosan nanoparticles to encapsulate quercetin may exert a better effect on tumors. 94 Besides, quercetin can be incorporated into the backbone of the polymer matrix, which allows a slow release of the guest polyphenol.…”

Effect of Sodium Hydroxide and Tripolyphosphate on Curcumin Release from Chitosan-Based Macroparticles

“…Curcumin (CUR), an orange-yellow hydrophobic polyphenol derived from the rhizomes of the herb Curcuma longa, is another natural bioactive and therapeutic compound due to its anticarcinogenic, antibacterial, antimicrobial, antifungal, antiviral, antimalarial, antioxidant, antimutagenic, cicatrizing, anti-inflammatory, anti-coagulant, anti-fertility, antiprotozal, antifibrotic, antivenom, antiulcer, hypotensive, and anticholesteremic properties, as well as its free-radical effects [3,5,[22][23][24]. Because of its flavoring properties, CUR is used as a food coloring, and as a traditional medicine in India and China for the treatment and prevention of several diseases, such as neurological, oncological, autoimmune, metabolic, cardiovascular, and diabetes, due to its extraordinary activities [3][4][5]23], which have attracted increasing interest from researchers to CUR [25]. However, the use of CUR in therapeutic applications has been limited due to its poor bioavailability and water solubility [4,26,27].…”