CHAPTER 2. Allspice – Jamaican Pepper, Pimenta, Newspice (Pimenta dioica, Pimenta officinalis Lindl)

Abstract

Allspice describes the spice obtained from berries of Pimenta dioica, which are picked when green and then sun dried. It is called allspice due to its unique aroma that mimics a blend of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg, which is aromatic and pungent. An essential ingredient in Caribbean folk medicine, from where it originates, allspice is not only used in foods and drinks as a spice and condiment, but also as an ingredient in perfume, soaps, cosmetics, deodorants, scented candles and also to make toothpaste and pesticides. Allspice, via its bioactive constituents, possesses antioxidant, anti-diabetic, lipid lowering, chemopreventive (anti-cancer), anti-hypotensive, anti-platelet aggregation, analgesic and anti-microbial properties. It is also suggested that it might be of use in the management of menopausal symptoms. To date much of the research carried out, predominantly in North America (the US) and also Asia (China and Japan) with pockets of work from Europe, is in vitro and in vivo (animal) based. There is little peer reviewed literature on allspice's safety.