INTRODUCTION:

In India, as a traditional practice, spices are added to drinking water as they are believed to have certain medicinal properties. Many tests were performed by other scientists on the antioxidant effects and phytochemical analysis of various spices^1,2. Therefore, this study is conducted to provide a scientific basis for the traditional practice of adding spices to drinking water and to estimate the antibacterial effect of various spices in drinking water. The various spices used in this experiment were Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum), Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), Clove (Syzygium aromaticum), Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) and Sappan wood (Caesalpinia sappan).

Cardamom is a spice that originated in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. In India, cardamom was traditionally considered as an herb and was one of the ingredients in Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine. It was believed to be a remedy for teeth and gum infections, throat problems, congestion of the lungs, pulmonary tuberculosis, inflammation of the eyelids, gastrointestinal disorders, disintegrating kidney, and gall bladder stones, and was also used as an antidote for poisons and venoms^3,4.

According to the US Department of Agriculture and the National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, cardamom (100 g) contains energy (300 kcal), carbohydrates (68 g), protein (11 g), dietary fiber (28 g) and no cholesterol (0 mg). Cardamom is rich in various vitamins and micronutrients as well. These include niacin, pyridoxine, riboflavin, thiamine, vitamin A, vitamin C, sodium, potassium, calcium, copper, iron.

Cinnamon is a powerful spice that has been used medicinally around the world for thousands of years. It is still used daily in many cultures because of its widespread health benefits, its distinctly sweet, warming taste and ease of use in recipes. It is obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus Cinnamomum. Cinnamon is used in both sweet and savory foods. Ten grams of ground cinnamon contain energy: 103.4 kJ (24.7 kcal), fat: 0.12 g, carbohydrates: 8.06 g, (fibres: 5.31 g, sugars: 0.2 g), protein: 0.4 g. The unique smell, color, and flavor of cinnamon is due to the oily part of the tree that it grows from. The health benefits of cinnamon come from the bark of the Cinnamomum tree. This bark contains several special compounds which are responsible for its many health promoting properties- including cinnamaldehyde, cinnamic acid, and cinnamate^{5, 6, 7}.

Cloves are one of the spices indigenous to Asian countries like Indonesia, India, Pakistan, and even areas of East Africa. It is native to the Maluku islands in Indonesia. Cloves are a popular flavouring agents used in a variety of ways across the world, particularly in Asia. Cloves form the culinary base in a number of different Asian cuisines. According to the National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, the nutrients found in 100 grams of cloves include 65g of carbohydrate, 6g of protein, 13g of total lipids, 2g of sugars, 274 kcal of energy and 33g of dietary fiber. Minerals in cloves include calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, and zinc. The vitamins found in cloves include vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin D, and vitamin K. Cloves are believed to aid in digestion, having antimicrobial properties, fighting against cancer, protecting the liver, boosting the immune system, controlling diabetes, preserving bone quality, and containing anti-mutagenic properties, as well as fighting against oral diseases and headaches, while displaying aphrodisiac properties as well^{8, 9, 10,11}.

Cumin is very beneficial for the digestive process and a variety of digestive ailments, including dyspepsia, diarrhea, nausea, morning sickness, and indigestion. Cuminaldehyde, the organic compound which gives cumin its unique aroma, aids in the primary digestion stage of food by activating the salivary glands of the mouth. Another compound, thymol, assists the digestion of food in the stomach and intestines by stimulating the glands which secrete acids, bile and enzymes. Cumin is Carminative, meaning that it provides relief from excess gas and improves digestion and appetite. Cumin’s essential oils, sodium content, and magnesium also promote digestion and provide relief for upset stomach. Cumin water, remedy found below, can be taken at mealtimes either warm or cold to provide a host of digestive and other benefits¹².

Kerala Ayurvedic Water is the usual hot drinking water used by many people across Kerala. This water is slightly pinkish in colour. This water is made by boiling the heartwood of Pathimugam (East Indian red wood) tree, a multipurpose tree that is popularly used for different medicinal purposes in Kerala, India. This tree is also known by the name ‘sappan wood’ and is actually the heartwood of Caesalpinia Sappan Linn of Leguminosae family, a tree indigenously found in India. Boiling drinking water with “Pathimugam” will purify the water and prevent the spread of any water-borne epidemic. It is also used in many Ayurvedic medicines because of its prophylactic properties. Experts are of the opinion that “Pathimugam” can be used for the treatment of certain types of cancer. It is also said that it can be used for the cure of certain disorders related to kidney and skin. Additionally, it is also used for the treatment of piles, cholesterol, blood purification, stomach problems, diabetics, heart problems etc^{13, 14,15}.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Each of the 5 spices (cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, clove and sappan-wood) were added to boiling water which was then allowed to cool to room temperature. 500 µl of this sample water was added to 2 ml sterile nutrient broth and incubated at 37°C for 24 h in a bacterial incubator. Optical density of each sample was noted at 540 nm to check the level of turbidity using a colorimeter. The experiment was also performed with a water sample containing all the 5 spices mixed together.

Autoclaved water in nutrient broth was used as the positive control, and tap water (filtered, ground water without boiling) in nutrient broth was used as the negative control. All experiments were carried out in triplicates.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS:

Traditional herbal medicines are naturally occurring plant-derived substances with minimal or no industrial processing that have been used to treat illness within local or regional healing practices. Traditional herbal medicines are getting significant attention in global health debates¹⁶. Medicinal plants based traditional systems of medicines are playing important role in providing health care to large section of population, especially in developing countries. Interest in the traditional system and utilization of herbal products produced based on them is increasing in developed countries also.

To obtain optimum benefit and to understand the way these systems function, it is necessary to have minimum basic level information on the different aspects. Indian System of Medicine is among the well-known global traditional systems of medicine ¹⁷.

The scientific validation of these medicinal herbs/spices is the need of the hour as there is a paucity of data in terms of clinical trials¹⁸.The ancient people made use of the spices for their beneficial properties without exactly knowing the reasons for the beneficial properties, whereas nowadays it has been scientifically proven as to what exactly lead to the various benefits that can be obtained by the use of spices.

Table 1.Effect of aqueous extract of spices on bacterial growth

ADDITIVE	OD _{540 nm}
Blank	0
Positive control	0
Negative control	0.94
Cardamom	0.76
Cinnamon	0.07
Clove	0.14
Cumin	0.47
Sappan wood	0.28
Mixture of Clove and Cinnamon	0.23
Mixture of Cardamom, Cinnamon, Clove, Cumin, Sappan wood	0.35

The sample with cinnamon showed the least turbidity compared to the other samples and thus can be concluded as having the highest antibacterial activity (Table 1). This was closely followed by clove. When an experiment was performed by mixing cinnamon and clove in the same water sample, no significant level of antibacterial effect was found, as compared to the effect of the individual spices in water. And when an experiment was performed by mixing all the 5 above mentioned spices, no significant antibacterial activity was found. This decrease in antibacterial activity of aqueous extract of all the spices mixed together may be due to the antagonistic effect of bioactive compounds present in them. Previous report has also indicated the antagonistic effect of essential oil from Thymus eigii, Pinus nigra and also from Thymus eigii and Cupressuss empervirens against different bacteria.

It may be inferred that the individual spices (especially cinnamon), have the highest antibacterial effect while combination of spices would have served as a nutrient medium for the growth of bacteria and thus showed poor antibacterial activity^19,20.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

Authors would like to thank the management of Sathyabama University for the encouragement and providing the opportunity to carry out this work.

REFERENCES:

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Received on 09.05.2017 Modified on 01.06.2017

Research J. Pharm. and Tech 2017; 10(11): 3795-3797.

DOI: 10.5958/0974-360X.2017.00688.6