Abstract
Spices-dried aromatic parts of plants (leaves, seeds, bark, roots, rhizomes, buds, etc) used to enhance flavour, taste and colour (sensory quality) of foods, are increasingly finding other useful roles in healthcare beyond their primary use as culinary organoleptic enhancers. Several spices are currently being investigated for their potential health benefits, because of the failing efficacy, toxicity and high cost associated with conventional drugs. One such spice: Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. and L.M.Perry [Myrtaceae] (Clove), has a multi-dimensional role in diet, medicine, functional foods and nutraceuticals, agriculture, among other industries. Peer-reviewed articles, mostly from PubMed and Google Scholar, were consulted for the purpose of this review. The nutritional and phytochemical contents, selected biological activities as well as some functional foods and beverages of clove and their uses for human health are presented. Although these observations are largely empirical, the efficacious attributes have led to their pharmacological applications in the indigenous system of medicine all over the world and bridge between food, diet and medicine. Considering the GRAS status of clove, more studies on bioavailability, accumulation, toxicity, dosage and efficacy of clove as a spice drug or functional foods in biological systems especially in humans are required. Meanwhile, clove and its products can be used as co-adjuvants in the prevention, treatment and management of chronic diseases. Further, many applications of clove in food, health, cosmetics, pharmaceutics, nanoparticles and agricultural industries are still open for investigations.
Highlights
The interest of consumers and researchers into how food and diet prevent and treat many disease conditions and promote human health has increased in recent years
A rapidly increasing area of research is that of functional foods and nutraceuticals referred to as foods with physiological or health benefits (Myrie and Jones, 2011)
Clove belongs to the Kingdom: Plantae; Division: Magnoliophyta; Class: Magnoliopsida; Order: Myrtales; Family: Myrtaceae; Genus: Syzygium; Species: S. aromaticum (Clove); Name: Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. and L
Summary
The interest of consumers and researchers into how food and diet prevent and treat many disease conditions and promote human health has increased in recent years. Every other part of the plant, including dried bark, roots, berries, seeds, twigs, or anything else that is not the green leafy part, is considered a spice Several reports of their flavour enhancement, reduction of the need for salt, sugar and fat, preservative, digestive improvement, bioactive component and health promoting uses abound in the literature. Another study reported that on dry weight basis, the crude protein of spices and herbs could range from 4.6 to 22.1%; fat (ether extract) 7.5–36.0%, total carbohydrate 34.6–71.9% and free fatty acids (as percent oleic acid) were generally low indicating good storage stability, while the flavour imparting essential oils (as percent oleoresin) were fairly high and ranged from 0.1 to 5.2% (Achinewhu et al, 1995) These data indicate that spices can contribute nutrients to the diet. Spices can prevent the growth of spoilage microorganisms (food preservation) and inhibit or regulate the growth of pathogenic organisms leading to food safety (Tajkarimi et al, 2010)
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