Spices as beneficial hypolipidemic food adjuncts: a review

The spices fenugreek, garlic, ginger, onion, red pepper, and turmeric are effective as hypocholesterolemics under conditions of experimentally induced hypercholesterolemia and hyperlipidemia. Furthermore, fenugreek is effective in human diabetics, whereas garlic and onion are effective in humans wit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Food reviews international 2004-06, Vol.20 (2), p.187-220
Main Authors: Srinivasan, K, Sambaiah, K, Chandrasekhara, N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
blood lipids
cholesteremic effect
curcumin
disease prevention
fenugreek
garlic
ginger
health promotion
hypocholesterolemia
Hypocholesterolemic effect
Hypolipidemic effect
lipemic effect
onions
peppers
Spices
turmeric
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Summary:The spices fenugreek, garlic, ginger, onion, red pepper, and turmeric are effective as hypocholesterolemics under conditions of experimentally induced hypercholesterolemia and hyperlipidemia. Furthermore, fenugreek is effective in human diabetics, whereas garlic and onion are effective in humans with induced lipemia. Capsaicin and curcumin, the active principles of red pepper and turmeric, respectively, are also documented to be efficacious even at doses comparable to calculated human intake. Capsaicin, curcumin, fenugreek, ginger, and onion are understood to cause an enhanced biliary secretion of bile acids also. Considerable human experimentation has been done with garlic and onion, but similar evaluation of the four other spices needs to be done. Limited information is also available on the hypolipidemic influence of spice combinations. Among these six spices, beneficial effects on lipid metabolism would probably be in the order: garlic > onion > red pepper/capsaicin > turmeric/curcumin > fenugreek > ginger. The mechanisms underlying the hypocholesterolemic and hypotriglyceridemic influence of these spices have also been fairly well understood.
ISSN:8755-9129
1525-6103
DOI:10.1081/FRI-120037160