Medicinal Spice and Condiment Crops

Spices are used in small quantities to add flavor, aroma, color, and texture in food preparation. However, spices and condiments have also been recognized as having medicinal value. They have been used traditionally as curative and preventive agents, the bioactive compounds obtained from these plants are used in herbal drug formulations in modern times. Medicinal Spice and Condiment Crops provides a comprehensive overview on the medicinal properties of spices and condiments with focus on various phytochemicals derived from them.

KEY FEATURES:

• Examines spices and condiments with respect to their biology, diversity, distribution, and pharmacological values
• Explores the scientific validations of the therapeutic potentials of spice and condiment plant species
• Discusses the bioactive agents involved in alleviating symptoms of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, ulcers, skin disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases
• Explains specific medicinal features of spice and condiment-producing plant species inspiring research, discovery, and safe herbal drug formulation

A volume in the Exploring Medicinal Plants series, this book is useful for plant scientists, economic botanists, those who work with herbal and complementary medicine, as well as people working in the pharmaceutical industry.

Azamal Husen served as Professor & Head, Department of Biology, University of Gondar, Ethiopia and is a Foreign Delegate at Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita, Ethiopia. Earlier, he was a Visiting Faculty of the Forest Research Institute, and the Doon College of Agriculture and Forest at Dehra Dun, India. His research and teaching experience of 20 years involves studies of biogenic nanomaterial fabrication and application, plant responses to environmental stresses and nanomaterials at the physiological, biochemical and molecular levels, herbal medicine, and clonal propagation for improvement of tree species.

He has conducted several research projects sponsored by various funding agencies, including the World Bank (FREEP), the National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP), the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), the Indian Council of Forest Research Education (ICFRE); and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). He received four fellowships from India and a recognition award from the University of Gondar, Ethiopia, for excellent teaching, research, and community service. Husen has been on the Editorial board and the panel of reviewers of several reputed journals published by Elsevier, Frontiers Media, Taylor & Francis, Springer Nature, RSC, Oxford University Press, Sciendo, The Royal Society, CSIRO, PLOS, MDPI, John Wiley & Sons and UPM Journals. He is on the advisory board of Cambridge Scholars Publishing, UK. He is a Fellow of the Plantae group of the American Society of Plant Biologists, and a Member of the International Society of Root Research, Asian Council of Science Editors, and INPST. To his credit are over 200 publications; and he is Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Plant Physiology.

He is also working as Series Editor of ’Exploring Medicinal Plants’, published by Taylor & Francis Group, USA; ’Plant Biology, Sustainability, and Climate Change’, published by Elsevier, USA; and ’Smart Nanomaterials Technology’, published by Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. Singapore.