PRELIMINARY STUDY REGARDING THE BIOLOGIC ACTIVITY OF SPICES

Cinnamon, cloves, and turmeric have long been valued as aromatics and components in oils and fragrances, and have been used as spices and remedies since ancient times. Ground spice is crucial in the food business for seasoning baked goods such as cakes, buns, biscuits, cookies, steaming puddings, pies, sweets, chewing gum, and desserts. However, the food business can benefit from the antioxidant activity of essential oils, for functional food production, with potential health claims. The paper aimed to evaluate the biologic activity (total phenolic content, the antioxidant activity and the antimicrobial effect) for the grounded and oil form of cinnamon, cloves, and turmeric. Among the evaluated spices, the grounded clove indicates the highest antioxidant activity (p<0.05), when compared with grounded cinnamon and turmeric. The value of the total phenolic content present in the grounded cloves oils was the highest (284.42 +/- 32.98 mgGAE/100 mL), when compared with cinnamon oil (100.43 +/- 9.85 mg GAE/100 mL), and turmeric oil (166.50 +/- 12.76 mgGAE/100 mL). The biologic activity of the spices suggests that in addition to imparting flavour to the food, they possess high potential as health promoters by their antioxidant effect, phenolic content and might be suitable for antimicrobial activity.