Vikrant Kumar

By Vikrant Kumar, Deepak Mishra, Mukesh Chandra Joshi, Priyanka Mishra and Megha Tanwar

All over the world, Plants have found to be a valuable source of herbs and spices for a long period of time to maintain the human health. Varieties of herbs and spices have been used to impart an aroma and taste to food for last few centuries. Several applications of plants species have been reported as antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antihypertensive and antimicrobial activities. Currently efforts are focused on their scientific merits, to provide science-based evidence for their traditional uses and to develop either functional foods or nutraceutical behavior. India is well recognized all over the world for their variety of herbs, spices and medicinal biodiversity. The WHO has listed more than 21000 plants, which are used for their medicinal purposes either in the form of essential oil or in the form of flavor. Among these, more than 2500 species and herbs are found in India, however; among them more than 150 species are used commercially on large scale. In India, the use of spices and herbs in the form of essential oil or in the form of flavor are traditionally used in routine treatment. For example, Curcumin which is found in turmeric are frequently used in medical facilities to wound healing, rheumatic disorders, and gastrointestinal symptoms etc.

Part of the book: Herbs and Spices