Table 3.
Anti-inflammatory activity of spices against different diseases in clinical trials.
| Spice | Active compound | Health issues | Phase | Pts no. | Dosage ranges (mg)/day | Clinical outcome (mechanism) | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardamom | – | Pre-diabetic subjects | – | 80 | 3000 | Significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects (↓ hs-CRP, ↓ hs-CRP:IL-6 ratio) | [412] |
| – | T2D | – | 83 | 3000 | Improvement in clinical symptoms (↓ TG, ↑ Sirt1) | [413] | |
| – | NAFLD | – | 87 | 3000 | Improvement in clinical symptoms, safe to use (↑ Sirt1, ↑ irisin) | [414] | |
| Cinnamon | β-caryo phyllene | H. pylori infection | – | 66 | 126 | Improvement in clinical symptoms (↓ IL-1β) | [415] |
| Coriander | – | Erythema | – | 40 | 0.5%a | Moderate anti-inflammatory effect | [416] |
| Garlic | – | Obesity | – | 51 | 3600b | Significant anti-inflammatory effect (↓ TNF-α, ↓ IL-6, ↓ LDL) | [417] |
| – | OA | – | 80 | 1000 | Relieved pain (↓ Resistin) | [418] | |
| Ginger | – | RA | – | 70 | 1500 | Improvement in clinical symptoms (↓ gene expression of NFκB, RORγt and T-bet) | [419] |
| – | OA | – | 120 | 1000 | Significant anti-inflammatory effect (↓ IL-1β, ↓ TNF-α) | [420] | |
| – | TB | – | 69 | 3000 | Significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect (↓ TNF-α) | [421] | |
| – | CRC | – | 20 | 2000 | Well-tolerated and safe (↑ LTB4) | [422] | |
| Ginseng | – | CHD | – | 24 | 1.35/kgc | Inhibition of gastrointestinal injury and inflammatory response (↓ IL-6, ↓ LPS, ↓ MDA) | [423] |
| – | RA | – | 84 | –d | Improved anti-inflammatory immunity, and analgesic effect (↓ CRP) | [424] | |
| Saffron | – | Asthma | – | 80 | 100 | Improvement in clinical symptoms, safe to use (↓TG, ↓ LDL cholesterol, ↓ basophil, ↓ eosinophil) | [425] |
| Crocin | MS | – | 40 | 30 | Significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects (↓ TNF-α, ↓ IL-17) | [426] | |
| Sesame seed | – | OA | – | 50 | 40,000 | Significant anti-inflammatory effects, safe to use (↓ IL-6) | [427] |
| Turmeric | CU | MetS | – | 117 | 1000e | Significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect, Safe to use (↓ hs-CRP) | [428] |
| CU | Obesity/hypertension | – | 90 | 900h | Significant anti-inflammatory effect, improvement in general health, safe to use (↓ CRP, ↓ TNF-α, ↓ IL-6, ↓ sVCAM-1) | [429] | |
| Curcumin | T2D | – | 118 | 1000e | Significant anti-inflammatory effects (↓ TNF-α) | [430] | |
| Curcumin | T2D | – | 44 | 1500 | Significant anti-inflammatory effect, reduced complications (↓ hs-CRP, ↓ TG) | [431] | |
| – | KOA | – | 160 | 500 | Significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, improvement in clinical symptoms (↓ IL-1β) | [432] | |
| – | OA | – | 42 | 1300–1950f | Significant anti-inflammatory effects, relieved pain, well-tolerated | [433] | |
| Curcumin | RA | – | 36 | 500–1000 | Significant anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, relieved pain, safe to use, well-tolerated (↓ CRP) | [434] | |
| – | CKD | – | 16 | –g | Significant anti-inflammatory effects, safe to use, well-tolerated (↓ IL-6) | [435] | |
| Curcumin | Hemodialysis | – | 71 | 1500 | Significant anti-inflammatory effects, (↓ hs-CRP, ↓ IL-6, ↓ TNF-α) | [436] | |
| CU | SM-induced CPC | – | 89 | 1500j | Significant anti-inflammatory and pulmonoprotective effects, safe to use, well-tolerated (↓ IL-6, ↓ IL-8, ↓ TNF-α, ↓ TGF-β, ↓ hs-CRP,↓ CGRP, ↓ MCP-1) | [437] | |
| Curcumin | COPD | – | 39 | 180k | Significant anti-inflammatory effects, safe to use (↓ AT-LDL) | [438] | |
| Curcumin | Migraine | – | 74 | 80i | Significant neuromodulatory effects, relieved headache, safe to use (↓ cox-2/iNOS) | [439] |
a: Coriander oil; b: Aged Garlic Extract; c: Shen-fu injection (the major component=extract of Panax ginseng); d: Panax notoginseng Saponins; e: Combination with piperine (10 mg/day); f: Combination of H. procumbens, C. longa, and bromelain (AINAT); g: Herbal supplement composed of purified turmeric extract (824 mg), curcuminoids (95%), and Boswellia serrata extract (516 mg), 3-acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (10%); h: Combination of bisacurone (400 μg), turmeronol A (80 μg) and turmeronol B (20 μg); i: Combination with ω-3 fatty acids (5000 mg/day); j: Curcumin C3 Complex® capsules containing 500 mg curcuminoids plus 5 mg bioperine®; k: Theracurmin® capsules
Abbreviations: AGE: Aged garlic extract, AT-LDL: α1-antitrypsin-low-density lipoprotein, CGRP: Calcitonin gene related peptide; CHD: Congenital heart disease, CKD: Chronic kidney disease, COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cox-2: Cyclooxygenase-2, CP/CPPS: chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome type III, CPM: Chronic pulmonary complications, CRC: Colorectal cancer, CU: Curcuminoids, CVD: Cardiovascular disease, H. pylori: Helicobacter pylori, hs-CRP: High-sensitivity C-reactive protein, IL: Interleukin, iNOS: Inducible nitric oxide synthase, KOA: Osteoarthritis of knee, LDL: Low density lipoprotein, LPS: Lipopolysaccharide, LTB4: Leukotriene B4, MCP-1: Monocyte chemotactic protein-1, MS: Multiple sclerosis, NAFLD: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, OA: Osteoarthritis, Pts: Patients, SM: Sulfur Mustard; RA: Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sirt1: Sirtuin-1, sVCAM-1: soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, TB: Tuberculosis TG: Triglycerides, TGFβ: Transforming growth factor-β, TNF: Tumor necrosis factor, T2D: Type 2 diabetes, WEC: Water extract of C. longa L, ↓: Downregulation/Inhibition, ↑: Upregulation/Activation.