Spices as Traditional Remedies: Scientifically Proven Benefits

Spices have been added to foods for centuries as flavors, preservatives, and colors and have also been used in traditional medicine in various countries to treat many diseases. Spices play an important role in human health and can be considered as the first functional foods. Although the amount of spices consumed is very low compared to many other foods, the role of spices in the daily diet should not be underestimated due to their health properties. Saffron, ginger, cinnamon, and turmeric are four globally common spices that have been widely used owing to well-known medical benefits in different traditional medicine systems, including Ayurveda, traditional Chinese, and Persian medicine since ancient times. Some general or specific health benefits of these spices include anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, and antihypertensive activities, which have potential protective properties against some ailments such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. Recent scientific studies on the therapeutic properties of these common spices have been reviewed in this chapter.