Abstract

MEDICINAL VIRTUES AND PHYTOCHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF SOME OF THE IMPORTANT INDIAN SPICES

*Nisreen Husain, Bhawana Pandey, Touseef Hussain Trak and Deepti Chauhan

Abstract

Spices and herbs have been an integral part of Indian recipes since ages. They not only enhance the taste and flavor of Indian food, but have been also known remarkably for home remedies. Cure of many diseases and infections have been practiced in the most natural way by the instant herbal medicines made out of the spices and herbs available in domestic kitchens of our Indian homes. Their therapeutic roles are attributed to the rich nutritive and antioxidant values of many of the spices and herbs. This owes to the presence of specific plant chemicals, often called „Phytochemicals‟. The present work is focused on the brief review about the medicinal virtues and their phytochemical contents of the important Indian spices, viz., Clove, Cinnamon, Black Pepper, Turmeric and Seeds of Bishops weeds.

Keywords: Spices, Phytochemicals, Medicinal Virtues, Nutritive Values.