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International Journal of Herbs and Pharmacological Research IJHPR, 2012, 1(2): 40 - 47
www.antrescentpub.com
REVIEW
PAPER:
ANTI-OXIDANT
POTENTIALS OF YAJI SPICES
*Okpalaugo O.C.
*Department
of Physiology, University of Benin, Benin City- Nigeria.
*Corresponding
Author: cynmaruwa@yahoo.com
Received: 17th May, 2012
Accepted: 23rd June, 2012 Published: 30th July, 2012
ABSTRACT
Globally,
spices have been used as coloring, flavoring and therapeutic agents, as well as
food additives and preservatives, due to their anti-microbial, anti-parasitic,
anti-helmintic and anti-oxidant potentials. Common amongst these spices are
ginger, clove, red pepper and black pepper, which in combination, constitutes
the main spices in Yaji –a complex Nigerian Suya-meat sauce that
also contain groundnut cake flour, Ajinomoto (monosodium glutamate) and salt.
Based on the clinical relevance of antioxidants and the growing concern on Yaji
as regards its rate of consumption, hepatotoxicity, neurotoxicity and
nephro- toxicity effect, this paper highlights the anti-oxidant potentials of
ginger, clove, red pepper and black pepper –herein referred to as Yaji -spices.
Key
Words: spices, anti-oxidants, medicine, flavoring agents.
_____________________________________________________________________
INTRODUCTION
An
anti-oxidant is an enzyme or other organic molecules that reduce the rate of
particular oxidation reaction and can counteract the damaging effect of
oxidation which can produce free radicals (Percival, 1998). They work by removing
free radical intermediates and inhibiting other oxidation reactions by being
oxidized themselves (Hamid et al., 2010). As a result, anti-oxidants are often
reducing agents such as thiols or polyphenols (Bjelakovic, 2007).
Anti-oxidants
are classified into two broad divisions, depending on whether they are soluble
in water (hydrophilic) or in lipids (hydrophobic) (Gutierrez, 2011). In
general, water soluble anti-oxidants react with oxidants in the cell cytoplasm
and the blood plasma, while lipid-soluble anti-oxidants protect cell membrane
from lipid peroxidation (Sies, 1997). These compounds may be synthesized in the
body or obtained from the diet (Vertwani, 2004).
A
paradox in metabolism is that while the vast majority of complex life requires
oxygen for its existence, oxygen is a highly reactive molecule that damages living
organisms by producing reactive oxygen species (Davies, 1995). Consequently,
organisms contain a complex network of anti-oxidant metabolites and enzymes
that work together to prevent oxidative damage to cellular components such as
DNA, proteins and lipids (Sies, 1999; Vertuani et al., 2004). In general,
anti-oxidant system either prevents these reactive species from being formed,
or removes them before they can damage vital components of the cell (Sies,
1997; Davies, 1995). However, since reactive oxygen species do have useful
function in cells, such as redox signaling, the function of anti-oxidant system
is not to remove oxidants entirely, but instead to keep them at an optimum
level (Rhee, 2006).
Low
levels of anti-oxidants or inhibition of the anti-oxidant enzymes, cause
oxidative stress and may damage or kill cells (Bonnefoy, 2002). As oxidative
stress might be an important part of many human diseases (Jomova and Valko, 2011;
Kregel and Zhang, 2007), the use of anti-oxidants in pharmacology is intensively
studied, particularly as treatments for stroke and neurodegenerative disease
(Hamid et al., 2010).
They are also widely used as ingredients in dietary supplements in the hope of
maintaining health and preventing diseases such as cancer and coronary heart
disease (Devasagayam et al. 2004). Although some studies have suggested
anti-oxidant supplement have health benefits, other large clinical trials did
not detect any benefit for the formulations tested and excess supplementation
may be harmful (Bjelakovic, 2007).
This paper
therefore highlights the anti-oxidant potentials of the spices in-combination
within Yaji (a complex Nigerian meat sauce), since anti-oxidant drug
alternatives are becoming inevitable
YAJI AND YAJI SPICES
Yaji is a complex
Nigerian meat sauce (Nwaopara et al., 2004; Nwaopara et al., 2007). It is
principally groundnut cake flour that has been mixed with different portion of
grounded spices like ginger, alligator pepper and salted to taste (Adebesin et
al., 2001). Groundnut flour is obtained by grinding groundnut cakes into fine
size, which can be used in making soup, stew, sauces, confectioneries, puddings
and bakery products (Adebesin et al., 2001). Yaji is a complex of spices
and additives including ginger, cloves, red pepper, black pepper, white-maggi
(Ajinomoto), salt, and groundnut cake powder (Nwaopara et al., 2007; 2008;
Akpamu et al., 2011). The spices in Yaji; ginger, cloves, red pepper and
black pepper, contain gingerol (Witchtcl, 2004), eugenol (Krishnaswamy and
Raghuramulu, 1998), capsaicin (Collier et al., 1965; Sirsat and Khanolkar,
1966) and piperine (Mc Gee, 2004) as active principle respectively.
Considering its
mass-consumption rate and complexity, Yaji has become the basis for
several histological investigations with interesting findings (Nwaopara et al.,
2004; Nwaopara et al., 2007; Nwaopara et al., 2008; Nwaopara et al., 2012).
These investigations were aimed at determining the effect of excessive
consumption of Yaji (or its constituent spices) on the Pancreas
(Nwaopara et al., 2004), Liver (Nwaopara et al., 2007), Kidney (Nwaopara et
al., 2008) and the Heart (Nwaopara et al., 2004). Results have shown that an
excessive consumption of Yaji-spices especially in combination, is
capable of inducing Pancreatic, Liver and Kidney tissue damage but with no
significant effect on the histology of the Heart under the same experimental
conditions (Nwaopara et al., 2004; Nwaopara et al., 2007; Nwaopara et al.,
2008).
From these
reported findings, one might conclude that the consumption of Yaji is
always likely to produce a negative effect, which however, according to
Nwaopara et al. (2009), should not be the case, because the emphasis in the
experiments was on the effect of an excessive consumption. In fact, it is quite
convincing that a moderated consumption of Yaji has the potential to
produce positive results in some sense and such can be seen in its
antioxidation potentials; considering the available information on the
anti-oxidation properties of its constituent spices.
ASN-PH-020919
ISSN:
2315-537X
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