With the festive season well upon us, the smell of traditional Christmas cooking is in the air. Spices traditionally associated with mouth-watering Christmas treats are not only a hit with the taste buds but also confer various health benefits.

Spices are one of the earliest recorded functional foods (1). Here we will uncover the health-boosting properties of six popular festive spices.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

• A popular flowering plant whose rhizome (“ginger root” or ginger) is widely used as a culinary spice and in folk medicine (2).
• The beneficial effects of ginger date as far back as the 13th century (3).
• Contains over 400 bioactive components (2).
• Experimental and clinical trials support the traditional view that ginger has analgesic (pain relieving), anti-diabetic (4,5), anti-obesity (6,7), nausea and vomiting reducing (particularly relating to surgery, chemotherapy and pregnancy) (8,9,10), anti-inflammatory (11,12), antimicrobial and antioxidant properties (2,13,14).
• Possesses the potential to prevent cardiovascular disease, arthritis, gastric dysfunction, respiratory disorders and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis (15,16,17).

Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt.)

• An evergreen tree native to the Maluku Islands, Indonesia (18).
• Widely used as a traditional seasoning and has a therapeutic effect on gastrointestinal diseases (19). In addition to flavouring foods and beverages, nutmeg has been used in traditional remedies for stomach and kidney disorders (18,20).
• Nutmeg is a rich source of fixed and essential oil, triterpenes, and various phenolic compounds (20).
• Numerous active ingredients have been reported to have various effects, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, anti-obesity, anti-diabetic and cardioprotective (21,22,25).
• Preclinical results show that nutmeg extract is a prebiotic that regulates gut microbes and metabolites and can reduce inflammation and lipid metabolism disorders in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (19,26).

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum)

• A spice derived from the inner skin of a tropical evergreen tree, cinnamon is one of the most common flavourings in the food industry around the world (27).
• Medicinal and culinary uses are well reported in ancient literature going back 4,000 years (28).
• C. verum (true cinnamon) and C. cassia are commonly used for culinary purposes (29), while C. zeylanicum and C. cassia are approved for herbal use.
• The main components found in cinnamon (cinnamaldehyde, cinnamic acid, eugenol, and coumarin) play key roles in different biological activities such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antifungal, and anti-diabetic activities (27).
• C. cassia has a wide range of pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, antitumour, improving glucose and lipid metabolism, neuroprotective, cardiovascular protective, analgesic, immunoregulatory and anti-diabetic (29,30,31,32,33,34).
• Compounds found in C. verum essential oil exhibit various pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, anti-diabetic, wound healing, anti-HIV, anti-anxiety and antidepressant (28).

Clove (Syzygium aromaticum L.)

• A highly prized spice native to the Maluku Islands, Indonesia, that has been historically used as a food preservative and for diverse medical uses (35).
• Its dried flower buds, referred to as “clove”, are highly sought-after for medicinal and culinary purposes. Clove has been used as a spice in ancient China for over 2,000 years (1,36).
• The buds contain a variety of vitamins, with high levels of vitamins A, B₃, and B₆ (1).
• Bioactive components, especially eugenol, have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, anticancer and cognitive enhancement properties (35,36,37,38).
• Used to treat toothache, gum inflammation, coughs, colds, neuralgic pain and type 2 diabetes (1,37).

Allspice (Pimenta dioica)

• The dried unripe berries of dioica, a Caribbean tropical tree, are called Allspice (39).
• The name “Allspice” was given by the British due to its strong aromatic flavour that resembles the combined aromas of cloves, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg (39).
• Jamaicans drink hot tea with Allspice for colds, dysmenorrhea (menstrual cramps) and dyspepsia (upset stomach) (39).
• In modern herbal medicine, Allspice extract has been used for neuropathic pain. Many of its aromatic compounds, mostly glycosides and polyphenols, show antibacterial, hypotensive, anti-neuralgic and analgesic properties (39).
• Allspice contains the common polyphenol eugenol, which is known to stimulate digestive enzymes and is used for treating indigestion. Eugenol also has analgesic effects in neuralgia; dentists often use it as an anaesthetic (39).

Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum)

• Known as the “queen of spice”, cardamom has been used for centuries for culinary and traditional medicine applications, including controlling asthma, teeth and gum infections, digestive and kidney disorders, cataracts, nausea, diarrhoea and cardiac disorders (40).
• Research findings indicate potential health-promoting properties of cardamom phytochemicals, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, antifungal, antiviral, lipid-modifying, anti-platelet aggregation, anti-hypertensive, and gastro-protective effects (40,41,42,43).

Conclusion

While clinical trials involve high dose formulations of the spices mentioned above for therapeutic effect, including tasty spices in your favourite meals, drinks and treats can spice up your Christmas while spicing up your overall health and well-being!