Spices and herbs
Now the most questions that arrive in almost everyone's mind is that what are the differences between spices and Herbs. Let's get straight to the point that-
What are the differences between spices and herbs?
1. Spices are usually dried roots, barks, or seeds, whereas herbs are
fresh leaves stems, or flowers of herbaceous plants.
2. Spices are used whole, crushed, or powders but herbs are most often used dried and crushed.
3. Spices have a stronger flavor and Aroma but Herbs have a comparatively wicked Aroma.
4. Examples of spices are turmeric and mustard and Herbs are thyme and parsley.
Some common major spices are present in almost every once kitchen. They also have some medical properties. So let's discuss their medicinal properties.
1. Ginger: Ginger is a flowering plant and its root is used as a Spice and folk medicine.
Characteristics: The volatile oil present is gingerol and shogaol. It is mildly pungent with a sharp burning sensation.
Medical properties:
1. It has antioxidant properties.
2. It helps to reduce inflammation and pain in the joints.
3. It is used to treat migraine headaches.
4. It prevents nausea.
5. It reduces intestinal contractions, neutralizes a digestive acid, and inhibits the 'vomiting center' in the brain.
6. It can detoxify carcinogens.
7. General acts as a material cough suppressant.
8. It is good for motion sickness.
2. Garlic: Garlic is a plant of the onion family. It is used for flavoring in cooking but it is also used as a medicine throughout ancient and modern history to treat diseases.
Medical properties:
1. It is used to treat various digestive disturbances.
2. It has antibacterial properties.
3. Extracts can lower serum cholesterol.
4. Levels and prevent heart diseases.
5. Aajoyne, a chemical present in garlic, has hypertensive action.
6. It prevents tumors.
7. It exerts an immunopotentiation thing effect by stimulating
natural killer cell activity.
3. Mustard: It is a plant species whose seeds are used as spices. Grinding and mixing the seeds with water or vinegar or some other liquids creates a yellow condiment known as prepared mustard.
Characteristic: The flavor is due to ally isothiocyanate. Reddish black, black, and white seeds are available.
Medicinal properties:
1. Mustard seeds are rich in sulfur-containing compounds like dithiol thiones which protect the toxic effects of aflatoxin.
2. It is good for cold and acts as a decongestant.
3. It can also prevent cancer.
4. Chillies: It is a small hot-tasting pod of a variety of capsicum, used in sauces, relishes, and spice powders. There are various forms with pods of differing size, color, and strength of flavor.
Characteristics: It contains capsanthin and carotenoid pigments. The pungency of chilies is expressed by 'Scoville value'.
Medicinal properties:
1. It contains capsaicin in which increases gastric secretion and causes the destruction of mucosal cells.
2. Capsaicin is carminative and antiflatulence agent.
3. It stimulates blood circulation.
4. It is good for a sore throat.
5. Oleoresin of red chilies is used for ointments, used for giving relief to pain, swelling, and inflammation.
5. Turmeric: It is a flowering Pan plant whose roots are used as spices in cooking. It is mainly used in Asian foods.
Characteristics: It is ground dried aromatic route. It contains five percent Essential oil. The coloring substance of turmeric is curcumin. Sometimes turmeric may be other third with metanil Yellow or lead salt.
Medicinal properties:
1. It contains phenolic compounds called curcuminoids (yellow colored).
2. They help in detoxifying harmful drugs or Chemicals that are converted to toxic metabolites.
3. Reduces irritation of the stomach.
4. It helps to relieve sore throat, cough, cold, and flatulence.
5. Turmeric, another chemical of turmeric, has antioxidant and anticarcinogenic properties.
6. Turmerin and curcumin helps to reduce cholesterol.
6. Cardamon: It is the expensive and world's ancient spices which are used in cooking.
Medicinal properties:
1. It has a strong aroma which is used in some medicines.
2. It is used for common cough and cold.
7. Cinnamon: It is the thin inner bark of the cinnamon tree. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavoring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savory dishes, breakfast cereals, snack foods, tea, and traditional foods.
Characteristics: It contains 2-10% volatile oil which characteristic pleasant order. The active principles are cineole, borneol, pinene, etc.
Medicinal properties:
1. It is a potent antioxidant.
2. It has flavonoids which contain anti-cancer properties.
3. Onion: It is a vegetable that is mostly used as spices. It adds flavor to the food without salt and sugar. It has many health benefits.
Medicinal properties:
1. It helps to maintain the normal glucose level.
2. It has antibacterial properties.
3. The sulfur-containing compounds have antibacterial properties.
4. It can lower blood cholesterol and lipid level and is thus useful in
preventing heart diseases.
5. It has stimulated, diuretic, and expectorants properties.
6. It is good for flatulence and dysentery.
9. Pepper: It is the most commonly used spices all over the world. It has a hot test and many health properties.
Medicinal properties:
1. It is used along with hot milk for throat infections.
2. It is used as a remedy for cough and chest congestion.
3. It is used for treating rheumatism, muscular pain, and headache.
10. Fenugreek seeds: It is a Spice similar to Clove which is used in cooking, in medicines to hide the taste of other medicine.
Medicinal properties:
1. It helps in maintaining blood glucose levels.
2. It can be used, with buttermilk, to treat dysentery.
11. Cumin seeds: It is a flowering plant. Its seeds – each one contained within a fruit, which is dried – are used in the cuisines of many cultures in both whole and ground form.
Characteristics: It has a pungent, sharp, and astringent flavor. It has 2-4% Essential oil. The active principle is an aldehyde.
Medicinal properties:
1. It acts as a stimulant and carminative agent.
2. It contains a bioactive substance called phthalide, which increases the levels of anticancer protective enzymes.
There are also some minor spices-
1. Ajwain: It is aromatic and has a pungent test that will stop the Essential oil is thymol and limonene.
1. It is a good remedy for digestion.
2. It is antispasmodic, stimulant and carminative.
3. It is a volatile oil.
2. Aniseed: The flavoring principle of this is the main component which is anethole. It is used as a mouth freshener.
1. It helps to prevent flatulence.
2. It is mildly carminative.
3. It is used to treat colic pain.
3. Asafoetida: The odor components are ferulic ester and sulfur-containing volatile oil.
1. It is used as an antimicrobial agent.
2. It is also used in treating Chronic Bronchitis and whooping cough.
3. It is used in counter-acting intestinal flatulence.
4. It increases the detoxification enzymes in the body.
4. Clove: It contents 15% Essential oil. Eugenol, a phenolic compound is a major component of clove oil. It has a strong Aroma and a hot pungent taste.
1. It acts as an antioxidant.
2. Helps to combat minor ailments like indigestion, flatulence, and toothache.
3. They are carminative, stimulant, antiflatulent, antihelminthic.
4. It helps in dyspepsia and gastric irritation.
5. It can also be used as an analgesic and anesthetic.
6. A mixture of clove oil and zinc oxide is used for filling tooth cavities.
7. Clove oil is used as a flavoring agent in pharmaceuticals.
5. Coriander seeds: The seeds containing 0.5-1% essential oil. The active principle is geraniol and barneol.
Medicinal properties:
1. It prevents foul breath.
2. It can prevent flatulence, vomiting, and intestinal disorders.
3. It contains thalides which are anticancerous.
6. Nutmeg and mace: Nutmeg is the dry, hard, wrinkled seed of the nutmeg fruit and mace is the orange-red fleshy covering of the fruit. Its contents 7-14% essential oils. The essential oil has a toxic compound called myristicin.
1. They have antimicrobial properties.
7. Saffron: It is Is used as a coloring and flavoring agent. The Essential oil is crossing and the coloring agent is crocin.
Medicinal properties:
1. it is used as a sedative.
2. It is used as a remedy for eye infections.
Hope that you get help from this article if so then comment down below and thank you for reading.
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