Assessment of oral safety profile of aqueous extract blend of three medicinal spices in Wistar rats

Purpose: To evaluate the possible toxicity of a blend of three spices, namely, garlic (Allium sativum), ginger (Zingiber officinale) and cayenne pepper (Capsicum frutescens) in Wistar ratsMethods: For acute toxicity test, five females and five male rats were given a single oral dose of 5000 mg/kg body weight of aqueous extract of the spice blend and observed for 14 days. Sub-acute toxicity was assessed by giving male and female rats 200, 500 and 1000 mg/kg body weight oral doses of the spice blend on a daily basis for 28 days, while controls were administered distilled water. At the end of the experiment, blood and tissues were collected for haematological, biochemical and histological evaluations.Results: The haematological indices of treated rats did not reveal any significant (p > 0.05) differences from those of control except for elevation in lymphocyte count which was significant (p < 0.05) in the 500 and 1000 mg/kg treated male groups. Activities of serum alkaline phosphatise (ALP), gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and creatine kinase (CK), as well as concentration of total cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly reduced (p < 0.05) following treatment with the extract of the spice blend. Histological examinations of the liver did not reveal any pathological changes attributable to treatment with the spice blend extract.Conclusions: These findings indicate that oral consumption of a spice blend of garlic, ginger and cayenne pepper in humans may be safe.Keywords: Spice blend, Toxicity, Histology, Marker enzymes, Medicinal, Safety profil

Comparison of Organoleptic Properties of Egusi and Efo Riro Soup Blends Produced with Moringa and Spinach Leaves

The organoleptic properties of  melon, “egusi” (Citrullus colocynthis var. Lanatus seed) and efo riro (Spinach; Amaranthus spinosus) soup blends produced with Moringa (Moringa oleifera) and spinach leaves were compared. Three soup blends were produced for egusi soup: Spinach: Egusi (60:40; Control), Moringa: Egusi (60:40), Moringa: Spinach: Egusi (30:30:40). Also, three soups blends were produced for efo riro: Moringa: Spinach (Moringa only) (100:0;Control), Moringa: Spinach (MS) (50:50), Moringa: Spinach (Spinach only) (0:100). The soup blends were subjected to organoleptic tests using a 7-point hedonic scale. Data obtained were statistically analyzed. The control Spinash:Egusi soup had the highest acceptability  in terms of colour, aroma, texture and general acceptability, this was closely followed by the soup blend with Moringa: spinach: egusi (30:30:40) and the Moringa: egusi (60:40)  was least accepted. In the efo riro group, the 100% spinach had the greatest acceptability, while the 100% Moringa had the least acceptability.  However, most of the respondents (60%) on realizing that Moringa leaf was included in the samples indicated their preference and higher rating for the Moringa soup blends. These studies show that a 30% or lower level of inclusion of Moringa leaves in traditional vegetable soup recipes is acceptable to consumers irrespective of whether content of the soup is declared/indicated, and a higher level of inclusion is acceptable when “Moringa” is declared/revealed as a recipe ingredient. Therefore, traditional soups can be used as vehicles or carriers of the nutritional/medicinal qualities of Moringa that are preserved during cooking, thereby circumventing negative psychological feeling of using medicines whilst gaining attendant benefits. Key words: Soups, Efo Riro, Egusi, Moringa/Spinach Blen