Abstract
Many spices have been shown to have harmless sources of natural antioxidants and have been of great help in preventing the pathological effects caused by free radicals and their associated oxidative stress. The total antioxidant activity, total phenolic content and flavonoid content in ethanol extract of seven (7) local spices (clove, rosemary, anise seeds, calabash nutmeg, Ethiopian pepper, bayleaf and fermented African locust beans) and one artificial spice in Ghana; (shrimp cube) were determined in vitro by the 1, 1 diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay, the Folin-Ciocalteau and aluminium chloride colorimetric methods respectively. The total phenolic content estimated for each spice decreased in the order clove > rosemary > bayleaf > anise seeds > calabash nutmeg > Ethiopian pepper > fermented African locust beans > shrimp cube with a statistically significant p- value of 0.003. The total flavonoid contents decreased significantly in the order clove >calabash nutmeg > rosemary > Ethiopian pepper > bayleaf > anise seeds > fermented African locust beans > shrimp cube (p= 0.002). The free radical scavenging activity of the spices also decreased significantly in the order clove > rosemary > bayleaf > anise seeds > Ethiopian pepper > calabash nutmeg > fermented African locust > shrimp cube (p=0.040). Statistically significant linear correlations were observed between total phenolic content and DPPH scavenging activity (r = 0.976, p=0.000) and flavonoid content and DPPH scavenging activity (r =0.693, p=0.003).These findings suggest that local plant-based spices are available sources of natural antioxidants than the shrimp cube. Of the seven local spices analysed, cloves had the highest antioxidant activity. Future studies should investigate the antioxidant activity of these spices in vivo.
Highlights
Spices constitute an important group of agricultural commodities which are used worldwide mostly in the culinary art
The total phenolic content, total flavonoid content and total antioxidant activity in the spices are reported as the mean concentration of each spices as mg GAE/g, mg QE/g and percentage (Figure 1 – Figure 3) respectively
The main ingredients in the shrimp cube based on food labelling were mono sodium glutamate, iodine, sodium inosinate and sodium guanylate, starch and modified starch, sugar, vegetable oil, shrimp maltodextrin, fish, ferric pyrophosphate and spices and spices extract
Summary
Spices constitute an important group of agricultural commodities which are used worldwide mostly in the culinary art. Spices could be any part of a plant that is bark, buds, fruits, leaves, roots, seeds, or the entire plant/flower [1] and are basically used in various forms, namely fresh, ripe, dried or powdered. These farm products are eaten in combination with other foods but have no caloric value. Common uses of spices are to contribute aroma, add flavour, enhance taste and in some cases add colour and visual appeal to foods. Uses of certain local spices other than food preparation included treating stomachache, toothache, earache, diarrhoea, measles, chicken pox, oedema, wounds and worm infestations [1]. In some instances spices were used to control cholesterol levels and high blood pressure
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