Billing J, Sherman P W
Section of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Q Rev Biol. 1998 Mar;73(1):3-49. doi: 10.1086/420058.
Although spices have been important for centuries in food preparation throughout the world, patterns of spice use differ considerably among cultures and countries. What factors underlie these differences? Why are spices used at all? To investigate these questions, we quantified the frequency of use of 43 spices in the meat-based cuisines of the 36 countries for which we could locate traditional cookbooks. A total of 4578 recipes from 93 cookbooks was analysed. We also complied information on the temperature and precipitation in each country, the ranges of spice plants, and the antibacterial properties of each spice. These data were used to investigate the hypothesis that spices inhibit or kill food-spoilage microorganisms. In support of this is the fact that spice plant secondary compounds are powerful antimicrobial (i.e., antibacterial and antifungal) agents. As mean annual temperatures (an indicator of relative spoilage rates of unrefrigerated foods) increased, the proportion of recipes containing spices, number of spices per recipe, total number of spices used, and use of the most potent antibacterial spices all increased, both within and among countries. Likewise, the estimated fraction of bacterial species inhibited per recipe in each country was positively correlated with annual temperature. Several alternative hypotheses were considered--that spices provide macronutrients, disguise the taste and smell of spoiled foods, or increase perspiration and thus evaporative cooling; it also is conceivable that spice use provides no benefits. However, none of these four alternatives was well supported by our data. The proximate reason spices are used obviously is to enhance food palatability. But the ultimate reason is most likely that spices help cleanse foods of pathogens and thereby contribute to the health, longevity and reproductive success of people who find their flavors enjoyable.
尽管几个世纪以来，香料在全球各地的食物制备中都很重要，但不同文化和国家的香料使用模式差异很大。这些差异背后的因素是什么？为什么要使用香料呢？为了研究这些问题，我们对36个国家以肉类为主的菜肴中43种香料的使用频率进行了量化，这些国家都有传统食谱。我们分析了来自93本食谱的总共4578份食谱。我们还收集了每个国家的温度和降水量、香料植物的分布范围以及每种香料的抗菌特性等信息。这些数据被用来研究香料抑制或杀死食物腐败微生物的假设。支持这一假设的是，香料植物的次生化合物是强大的抗菌（即抗细菌和抗真菌）剂。随着年平均气温（未冷藏食物相对腐败率的一个指标）的升高，含有香料的食谱比例、每份食谱中香料的数量、使用的香料总数以及最有效的抗菌香料的使用量在国家内部和国家之间都有所增加。同样，每个国家每份食谱中估计被抑制的细菌种类比例与年平均气温呈正相关。我们还考虑了几个替代假设——香料提供大量营养素、掩盖变质食物的味道和气味、增加出汗从而促进蒸发散热；也可以想象使用香料没有任何好处。然而，我们的数据并没有很好地支持这四个替代假设中的任何一个。显然，使用香料的直接原因是为了提高食物的适口性。但最终原因很可能是香料有助于清除食物中的病原体，从而有助于那些喜欢其味道的人的健康、长寿和繁殖成功。
