Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.
Department of Nutritional Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.
Nutr Rev. 2022 Feb 10;80(3):400-427. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuab034.
Herbs and spices are recommended to increase flavor and displace salt in the diet. Accumulating evidence suggests herbs and spices may improve risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases. In this narrative review, an overview of evidence from human clinical trials examining the effect of herbs and spices on risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases is provided. Human clinical trials examining supplemental doses of individual spices and herbs, or the active compounds, have yielded some evidence showing improvements to lipid and lipoprotein levels, glycemic control, blood pressure, adiposity, inflammation, and oxidative stress. However, cautious interpretation is warranted because of methodological limitations and substantial between-trial heterogeneity in the findings. Evidence from acute studies suggests intake of mixed herbs and spices as part of a high-saturated fat, high-carbohydrate meal reduces postprandial metabolic impairments, including lipemia, oxidative stress, and endothelial dysfunction. Limited studies have examined the postprandial metabolic effects of incorporating mixed herbs and spices into healthy meals, and, to our knowledge, no trials have assessed the effect of longer-term intake of mixed herbs and spices on risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases. To inform evidence-based guidelines for intake of herbs and spices for general health and cardiometabolic disease risk reduction, rigorously conducted randomized controlled trials are needed, particularly trials examining herb and spice doses that can be incorporated into healthy dietary patterns.
草药和香料被推荐用于增加食物的味道并取代饮食中的盐。越来越多的证据表明，草药和香料可能改善心血管代谢疾病的风险因素。在这篇叙述性综述中，综述了人类临床试验中关于草药和香料对心血管代谢疾病风险因素影响的证据。人类临床试验研究了补充单一香料和草药的剂量，或其活性化合物，有一些证据表明可以改善血脂和脂蛋白水平、血糖控制、血压、肥胖、炎症和氧化应激。然而，由于方法学上的限制和研究结果之间存在很大的异质性，需要谨慎解释。急性研究的证据表明，摄入混合的草药和香料作为高饱和脂肪、高碳水化合物膳食的一部分，可以减少餐后代谢损伤，包括脂血症、氧化应激和内皮功能障碍。有限的研究已经检查了将混合的草药和香料纳入健康膳食后的餐后代谢影响，据我们所知，没有试验评估长期摄入混合的草药和香料对心血管代谢疾病风险因素的影响。为了为摄入草药和香料以促进整体健康和降低心血管代谢疾病风险提供循证指南，需要进行严格的随机对照试验，特别是需要研究可以纳入健康饮食模式的草药和香料剂量。
