A REVIEW ON: MEDICINAL USES OF SPICES AND CONDIMENTS IN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Ethiopia is one of the countries where a wide variety of mixed traditional food flavouring ether fermented or eaten as raw or as fresh or in the mixture of varieties of spices are prepared and consumed. The traditional condiment awaze(A) and data(A) are common that prepared from different mixture of spices and have flavouring the food as culinary purpose and antibacterial activity. The major ingredient for awaze preparation is red sweet pepper (Capsicum annum). The spices added to it include garlic (Allium sativum), ginger (Zingiber officinale), sweet basil (Ocimum sanctum), rue (Ruta chalepensis), cinnamon (Cinamommum zylanicum), clove (Eugenia caryophyla), Ethiopian caraway (Trachyspermum copticum), Ethiopian cardamom (Aframomum anguistifolium), and salt. The major substrate in the making of datta is the small chili pepper (Capsicum frutescence) at its green stage, Garlic and ginger. Apart from the fact that those condiments improve sensory properties of foods and vitamins, some of them contain antioxidants and medicinal properties that provide health benefits, detoxification of ant nutrient factors, and contain proteins, fatty acids, and good sources of gross energy. In addition to this spice can be taken as traditional medicine alone or in mixture of different concentration for the relief of certain alimentary and respiratory disease and some as in the form of tea with boiling water.