Momentousness of Upaskar (spices) for maintaining good health- An ancient traditional ayurvedic approach

Since ages Spices or condiment are perceived to be closely connected to food habit, cultural traditions, preservation and also to the medicinal use by a section of society as per their practice and experience. In so far as our country India is concerned, it is commonly pronounced as the “Spice Bowl of the World” and history of Indian spices is almost as old as the ’human civilization of Spices. These are used as one of the main ingredient of our routine or regular food. Scattered descriptions about these are available in ancient scriptures as therapeutic / protective activity in addition to their taste enhancing activity. Sour tasting substances like Amlikā (Tamarind), Dād. ima (Pomegranate), Nimbū (Lemon) and others are being described under the Hr.idya varga (cardiac stimulant section) of Āyurveda. These substances by stimulating Bodhaka Kapha increase the taste in food. Hiṅgu (Asafoetida), Mirca (Black pepper), Sauṁpha (Fennel) are substances which stimulate hunger and hence are called digestive substances. In the same way Rāı̄ (Brown mustard seeds), Adaraka (Wet ginger root), etc. substances are specifically helpful in digestion and hence are called digestive substances. © This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.


Introduction
Complexity and subtle use of herbs & spices characterize Indian food and Indian cuisine. These spices play crucial role in Indian cooking. It is a common popular myth that if there are no spices, it's not Indian food. We Indians have a usual practice or habit of spicing up our food to make it more hot and tasty. Some of the spices are required for the aroma, some for flavor and some for complimenting other spices Spices are defined as "a strongly flavored or aromatic substance of vegetable origin, obtained from tropical plants, commonly used as a condiment". InĀyurveda it is called 'Upaskara 1 ' and 'Sambhāra. 2 Spices were once as precious as gold. India plays a very important role in the spice market of the world. In ancient times majority of the spices were produced in India and exported worldwide. It was then; the spices of India attracted people across the borders and forced them to come to India for Spice trade.
'Masālā' is a word very commonly used in Indian cooking and is simply the Hindi word for "spice." So, whenever a combination of spices, herbs and other condiments are ground or blended together, it is called 'masala'. In India from ancient times palatable recipes and spices are prepared with the combination of these tasteful, carminative and digestive ingredients. If we cautiously observe, it could be adequately acknowledged that there are many ayuvedic plants are either used as food as culled out as neutraceutical under schedule IV of FSSAI or used as spices since, these delicious recipes enhance digestive vigor https://doi.org/10.18231/j.jpbs.2020.007 2320-1924/© 2020 Innovative Publication, All rights reserved. 43 and induce easy digestion. An attempt has been to segregate a list of such items ie spices and condiments in treatment of various kinds of diseases, which are detailed as follows: Ajavāyana -Botanical name: Trachyspermun ammi (L.) Sprague; 3,4 Family: Apiaceae; 3,4 Sanskrit-Yavāni, Hindi-Ajwain, ajwaayan, Javayan, Ajwan; Common English Name: The Bishop's weed, Ajova seeds Properties and Uses: Ajavāyana is pungent and bitter, penetrating, hot in potency, adds taste, light in attribute, carminative, digestive, cardiotonic; alleviates Kapha and Vāta; aggravates Pitta; treats analgesia, abdominal disorders, flatulence, Gulma and seminal disorders.
Properties and Uses: It is pungent in taste, hot in potency; alleviates Kapha and inflammation. Tastant, febrifuge, ophthalmic, antidiarrheal. It is used in different food preparations due to its specific properties 13 , 15,16 , 17 . In urina ry diseases and leucorrhoea, boil 3-4 gm of cumin seeds in water, strain the solution and take it with crystal sugar 5,6 .
Properties and Uses: It is sweet and bitter in taste; hot in potency; alleviates Vātapitta; antidiarrheal, aromatic; useful in excessive thirst and stomatitis. It is useful in abdominal disorders due to its carminative property. 12,13,15,16 It promotes digestion and relieves cold, cough and congestion when used as a decotion along with cardamom, ginger and clove. 5,6

Conclusion
Health is the base of four objectives of human endeavor (Purushārtha-chatustya) i.e., Dharma means righteousness (moral value), Artha means prosperity (economic value), Kāma means pleasure or love (psychological value) and Moks . a means liberation (spiritual value). For living a happy and healthy life it is very important to followĀyurveda preachings. Use of only salutary diet promotes health of an individual and maleficent diet is the cause of all diseases. Sapidity and palatability is known to be one of the chief characters of salutary diet. While defining the properties of salutary diet in Caraka Saṁhitā, it is said that this type of palatable, fresh and mucilaginous food promotes health.
Palatable food prepared from the spices is beneficial only when taken in an appropriate quantity. It is a secret that a self controlled person can enjoy the actual pleasure of various delicious foods prepared from these spices only, when the earlier consumed food is completely digested because hunger enhances the palatability.

Conflicts of Interest
All contributing authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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