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Abstract
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Introduction
Uses of spices
Sources of Spices and Herbs
Classification of spices
Extraction of essential oils and components of spices
Micro-organisms susceptible to spices:
a) Bacteria
b) Yeasts
c) Molds
7. Mechanism of antimicrobial activity
8. Factors affecting spices antimicrobial activity
9. Microbial Quality of Spices
10.
Application of Spices in Medicines
11.
Medically important spices:
a) Carvacrol
and
thymol
b) Eugenol
c) Carvone
d) Cinnamaldehyde
12. Conclusion
13. References
Abstract
Spices have been used since ancient times as flavoring agents in foods
in order to enhance the taste, texture, flavor, and aroma of food. Its
antimicrobial activities are latter discovered. Spices (clove, bay, thyme,
basil, pepper, ginger, rosemary, and mustered) have marvelous
antimicrobial activity against a variety of micro-organisms such as
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bacteria, yeasts and molds. Spices owe their antimicrobial activities due
to the production of volatile oils that exhibit anti-fungal and antibacterial activities in the vaporized state. Spices antimicrobial activities
are dependent upon the type of spice, type of food, and type of target
micro-organisms and chemical composition of oils extracted from
spices. They are also used in conjunction with antimicrobial drugs in an
effort to control food-borne pathogens like E.coli O157 H7,
Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas
species, and Aspergillus ssp.
1. Introduction:
Now a days, food manufacturers are paying special
emphasis upon the spices and herbs to use them as natural
antimicrobials. They are now preferred over chemical preservatives
because chemical preservatives are costly, toxic to health, and
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2. Uses of Spices:
They are used in food industries for the following
objectives as:
Spices are used as alternative for chemical additives in order to
preserve food because of their antimicrobial properties.
They are used in culinary practices as flavoring agent and to give
aroma to foods.
Spices are used in smoked products because their smoke contains
formaldehyde that inhibits microbial growth.
Their production, processing and handling is easy as compared to
chemical additives.
Unlike chemical additives, spices have negligible effects on
human health.
They are relatively less costly as they are obtained from plant
sources.
Spices are now extensively used to treat whopping cough and
stomach ache due to gas.
Antioxidants present in chilies are used to reduce blood
cholesterol level and also help to burn the calories.
Clove oil is specifically used in tooth-pastes in order to treat gums
and tooth decay as well as fever, digestive problems, fever and
cough.
Zeera is rich in Iron and helps to maintain the immune system. Its
extract with water is used to treat bacillary dysentery.
Curry leaves are used in herbal medicines with an aim to reduce
sugar level in the patients of diabetes (Akarpat et al., 2008;
Cox et al., 2010).
Garlic and ginger have antimicrobial activities and are used to
treat cough and cold.
Mustered oil is extensively used for body massage. It contains
omega-3-fatty acids that are essential fatty acids and provide
3. Sources of Spices:
4. Classification of Spices:
They are classified according to the following
criteria as:
Color such as Pepper.
Pungent smell such as garlic
Aromatic ringed structure of their antimicrobial chemical
constituents e.g. clove and cinnamon.
Herbaceous properties, for example, rosemary and sage.
Spices are also classified according to their taste, as sweet,
spicy, sour, bitter and astringent.
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They are often named after the name of plant sources from which
they are originally obtained.
Spices are effective against several molds because they inhibit the
growth of their hyphae and stop the synthesis of mycotoxins. Oregano
is effective against Aspergillus niger and clove is used to inhibit the
aflatoxin production by Aspergillus flavus. Actually, spices cause molds
cytoplasmic membrane rupture and inactivation of intracellular and
extracellular enzymes. Moreover, plant lytic enzymes hydrolyze the
chitin polymer in the cell wall of fungi.
8. Factors
activity:
affecting
the
spices
antimicrobial
There are
several factors
that affect the anti-microbial action of spices. These include the
following as:
a) Hydrogen ion concentration (pH)
b) Presence of other antimicrobials
c) Temperature
d) Conditions under which the spices are produced.
Spices contain phenolic compounds that are non-ionized at high
concentration of H+ ions so they are more readily absorbed into
hydrophobic proteins and lipids of plasma membrane. Spices with low
concentration of other antimicrobials is very effective against a number
of micro-organisms. At very high temperature, a large amounts of
phenolic compounds are released from spices so they show optimum
antimicrobial activity at high temperature. But high concentration of
phenolic compounds can also off flavor the food. Hence, temperature,
according to the type of spices must be controlled. In order to prevent
the contamination of spices, proper sanitation conditions should be
maintained during production, harvesting and processing of spices.
E.coli
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b) Eugenol:
Eugenol is phenyl propene that is obtained from clove oil. Its
chemical structure consists of phenolic ring that shows antimicrobial
activity by disrupting the lipid bilayer. It has now recently reported that
eugenol is very effective against Bacillus cereus by inhibiting the
production of amylase and protease. Both of these enzymes are involved
in the degradation of starch and proteins in nutrients. Deficiency of
carbohydrates and proteins inhibit the growth of micro-organisms.
Moreover, eugenol becomes hydrophobic at high concentration of H +
ions. Hydrophobic eugenol is then absorbed into the phospholipid bilayer
and disturbs its structure and permeability. Recently, it has been
reported that eugenol is also very effective against cell of gram negative
bacteria (Manila et al., 2014).
The chemical structure of eugenol and clove oil is given as:
c) Carvone:
Carvone consists of terpenoids that are obtained from caraway
seeds. It causes the bacterial cell to release H + ions and thereby
disturbing the hydrogen ion gradient inside the cell. The permeability of
bacterial cell is affected and ultimately cell Carvone causes lysis of
bacterial cell. It is very effective against E. coli, Streptococcus
thermophilus and Lactococcus lactis by disturbing their metabolic
enzymes. The Carvones chemical structure and its source are
represented as:
d) Cinnamaldehyde:
Cinnamaldehyde is obtained from bark of Cinnamon trees.
Cinnamon gives its trees specific flavor and odor. It is effective against
E.coli and Salmonella typhimurium. Unlike Carvone and thymol, it neither
weakens the cell membrane nor does it affect the ATP-synthase instead
its carbonyl group has strong affinity for proteins and prevent the
decarboxylation of amino acids. The chemical structure, bark of
cinnamon and its essential oil are represented by the following diagram
as:
Conclusion:
Contamination of food is a major problem in the food
industry. Spices extracts and essential oils have great potential against
micro-organisms like bacteria, molds and yeasts. When they are used in
combination, they exert an excellent antimicrobial activity. However,
spices may also contain a variety of micro-organisms, thus it is
necessary to produce, harvest and store in proper sanitary conditions.
They are used as flavoring agents so, their concentration in foods must
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13. References:
Akarpat, A., Tuthan, S. and Ustun, N.S., 2008. Effects of hot water
extracts from myrtle, rosemary, nettle and lemon balm leaves on
lipid oxidation and color of beef patties during frozen storage.
Jour of Food Process and Preservation, 32(1): 117-132.
Asolini, F.C., Tedesco, A.M., Ferraz, C., Alencar, S.M. and Carpes,
S.T., 2006. Antioxidant and antibacterial activities of phenolic
compounds in extracts of plants used as tea, Braz J Food Technol,
9(6):209-215.
Burt, S., 2004. Essential oils: their antibacterial properties and
potential applications in foods - a review. International Journal of
Food Microbiology, 94(3): 223-253.
Betoni, J.E, Mantovani, R.P., Barbosa, L.N., Di Stasi, L.C and
Fernandes, J. A., 2006. Synergism between plant extract and
antimicrobial drugs used on Staphylococcus aureus diseases. Mem
Inst Oswaldo Cruz, 101(4):387-390.
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