CRC Handbook of Medicinal Spices

Spices are important medicines that have withstood the empirical tests of millennia. Nearly 5,000 years ago Charak, the father of Ayurvedic medicine, claimed that garlic lightens the blood, reduces tumors, and is an aphrodisiac tonic. Today scientists say it thins the blood, prevents cancer, and increases libido. For centuries people worldwide have used spices to cure a myriad of ailments and to preserve foods. Now science is proving that these spices may preserve us with their antioxidant and antiseptic activities. Organized by scientific name, the CRC Handbook of Medicinal Spices provides the science behind the folklore of over 60 popular spices.