Food Processing - November 2007 - (Page 26)

SPICES Another area of ongoing research into the beneﬁts of spice concerns inﬂammation. “Inﬂammation is one of the early negative occurrences of the disease state,” says Johnson. “If inﬂammation can be controlled, many conditions – such as cancer, heart disease and others – can be positively affected.” In “Spicing Up of the Immune System by Curcumin,” published in December in the Journal of Clinical Immunology, Drs. Ganesh Jagetia and Bharat Aggarwal at the Cytokine Research Laboratory of The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, reviewed the research on curcumin, the orange-yellow component of the traditional spice turmeric. Turmeric is often prescribed in traditional Ayurvedic medicine as an anti-inﬂammatory agent. Studies released over the past two decades show curcumin to be a potent modulator of the immune system, affecting the activation of T cells, B cells, macrophages, neutrophils, natural killer cells and dendritic cells. Curcumin also can slow the production of various pro-inﬂammatory chemicals collectively known as cytokines and chemokines. Researchers believe curcumin accomplishes all this by inactivating a protein called transcription factor NF-KB, responsible for an abnormal inﬂammatory response. It’s the abnormal inﬂammatory response that increases the risk of diseases such as cancer, arthritis, allergies, asthma, atherosclerosis, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. “I’m excited about the research that links modern science to ancient Ayurvedic medicine,” says Winston Boyd, technical director and business development manager for Food Ingredient Solutions LLC (www.foodcolor.com), Teterboro, N.J. Boyd has studied antioxidants and other healthful properties of spices for more than 30 years. Food Ingredient Solutions makes a number of ﬂavors and colors from spices. A 2003 study in Diabetes Care showed cinnamon lowers fasting serum glucose, triglycerides, LDL and total cholesterol in patients with type-2 diabetes. Another study, from the University of Lund, Sweden, published in the January American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed that healthy subjects who ate a rice pudding spiked with only 6g of cinnamon reduced both after-meal blood sugar and the rate at which food left the stomach. Moreover, the change in gastric emptying accounted for only part of cinnamon’s effect on blood sugar. Oleoresins from a spice’s volatile oils can be substituted readily where ground or solid ﬂavorings would negatively impact texture. Their consistency also allows for more ﬁnely tuned ﬂavor solutions. PHOTO: TREATTAROME INC. Role in weight control Another area of interest in spice studies is weight control. Can spices be used to increase satiety of foods or make foods with low caloric density more palatable? That was suggested by a study conducted at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and reported in the December 2005 International Journal of Obesity. The study, “Sensory and gastrointestinal satiety effects of capsaicin on food intake,” looked at what happens when healthy subjects consumed an appetizer with 0.9g red pepper (containing 0.25 percent capsaicin) before each meal. It turns out the hot stuff decreased calorie intake by 10-16 percent. These are just a few studies that highlight the “nutritionally insigniﬁcant quantities” part of the spice-health equation. The health potential of spices is part of a getting-backto-roots movement. “Perhaps more than ever before, it is important to the success of major food manufacturers to understand the signature tastes of many ethnic ﬂ avor proﬁ les, particularly those depending on savory spices,” says Lisa Brown, director of marketing for Old World Spices and Seasonings Inc. (www.oldworldspices.com), Kansas City, Mo. “These ﬂ avor proﬁ les usually are a speciﬁc combination of The Habanero chili pepper, and its close cousin the Scotch bonnet, are among the hottest peppers grown. Yet they’ve also experienced a spike in demand in formulations. 26 • FOOD PROCESSING NOVEMBER 2007 PHOTO: MASTERTASTE NOTE TO PLANT OPS Beware of the short half-life of most spices. Spices can be expensive, so get the most from them. Since the volatile oils that give spices ﬂavor and strength are easily dissipated, store spices in a cool, dark, dry location in airtight containers – vacuum-packed, if possible. If you can, purchase whole spices on premises and grind immediately before use. Properly stored, pre-ground spices must be used within a few months; whole spices within six months. WWW.FOODPROCESSING.COM http://www.foodcolor.com http://www.oldworldspices.com http://WWW.FOODPROCESSING.COM

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Food Processing - November 2007 Contents Editor's Page NewsBites Regulatory Rollout Food Biz Kids Our Favorite Products of 2007 Ingredients Product Development Plant Operations Packaging New Product Profiles Toops Scoops

Food Processing - November 2007

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