Title:Spices: Therapeutic Potential in Cardiovascular Health
Volume: 23
Issue: 7
Author(s): Subha Rastogi*, Madan Mohan Pandey and Ajay Kumar Singh Rawat
Affiliation:
- Pharmacognosy & Ethnopharmacology Division, CSIR- National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow 226 001,India
Keywords:
Cardiovascular diseases, spices, Amomum subulatum, Coriandrum sativum, Curcuma longa, Zingiber officinale.
Abstract: Background: Dietary factors play a key role in the development as well as prevention of certain human
diseases, including cardiovascular diseases. Currently there has been an increase in global interest to identify
medicinal plants that are pharmacologically effective and have low or no side effects for use in preventive medicine.
Culinary herbs and spices are an important part of human nutrition in all the cultures of the world. There is a
growing amount of literature concerning the potential benefits of these herbs and spices from a health perspective
especially in conferring protection against cardiovascular diseases.
Objective: The objective of this review is to provide information on the recent scientific findings on some common
spices that have a distinct place in folk medicine in several of the Asian countries as well as on their traditional
uses for the role they can play in the management of heart diseases and which may be useful in defining
cost effective and inexpensive interventions for the prevention and control of CVDs.
Method: Systematic literature searches were carried out and the available information on various medicinal plants
traditionally used for cardiovascular disorders was collected via electronic search (using Pubmed, SciFinder,
Scirus, GoogleScholar, JCCC@INSTIRC and Web of Science) and a library search for articles published in peerreviewed
journals. No restrictions regarding the language of publication were imposed.
Results: This article highlights the recent scientific findings on four common spices viz. Greater cardamom
(Amomum subulatum Roxb.), Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.), Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) and Ginger
(Zingiber officinale Roscoe), for the role they can play in the management of heart diseases. Although they have
been used by many cultures since ancient times and have been known to exhibit several medicinal properties,
current research shows that they can also be effectively used for the prevention and control of CVDs.
Conclusion: Although scientific evidences supporting the benefits of spices in maintaining a healthy heart are
available, more complete information is needed about the actual exposures to these dietary components that are
required to bring about a response. The innumerable actions of spices that have been shown in in vitro experiments
need to be demonstrated in more systematic, well-designed animal model studies. More rigorous clinical
trials at the normally consumed levels are needed to determine long-term benefits as well as to assess adverse
effects if any at higher concentrations, especially if consumed over longer periods. Once these extensive studies
are carried out, it will be easy to define the appropriate intervention strategies utilizing these commonly used
spices for achieving the maximum benefits on cardiovascular health without producing any ill-effects.