Background and Objectives: Non-sanitary conditions during the drying, transport and storage stages in the production of spices could introduce mycotoxin contamination. The aim of the current study was to determine the concentration of ochratoxin A (OTA) in 92 commercial spices (including red pepper, black pepper, turmeric and cinnamon) imported to Iran. Materials and Methods: OTA levels were...

B lack pepper from the Piper nigrum L. vine (Figure 1) is the most commonly used spice worldwide, and its extracts have been used as a folk medicine in a variety of cultures. Piper nigrum is used for the production of both black pepper (from the unripened fruit) and white pepper (from the dehulled mature berry). In ancient Sanskrit literature, black pepper use for medicinal purposes was documen...

AIM To study the effects of combinations of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.), garlic (Allium sativum), and black pepper (Piper nigrum) powder supplementation on production traits of broiler chickens. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 288 commercial broiler chicks were randomly assigned to 1-9 groups with 4 replicates each. An experiment was conducted in broilers with different feed for...

Members of the botanical family Piperaceae were among the first cultivated plants1. Black pepper (Piper nigrum) and long pepper (Piper longum) are the best known species in this family and are probably among the most recognized spices in the world. Black pepper alone accounts for about 35% of the world’s total spice trade. In addition, black pepper and long pepper have been used medicinally for...

Spices are rich in natural antioxidants and have been shown to be potent inhibitors of lipid peroxidation during cooking of meat. Turmeric contains unique conjugated curcuminoids with strong antioxidant activity. Piperine, one of the main constituents of black pepper, is known to increase the bioavailability of curcuminoids in mouse and human studies when consumed with turmeric. We investigated...

Long-term vanilla monocropping often results in the occurrence of vanilla Fusarium wilt disease, seriously affecting its production all over the world. In the present study, vanilla exhibited significantly less Fusarium wilt disease in the soil of a long-term continuously cropped black pepper orchard. The entire fungal communities of bulk and rhizosphere soils between the black pepper-vanilla s...

The prevalence and population density of the mycobiota of 50 samples belonging to 10 kinds of spices (anise, black pepper, red pepper, black cumin, peppermint, cardamom, clove, cumin, ginger and marjoram) which collected from different places in Jeddah Governorate were studied. The natural occurrence of mycotoxins in those samples was also investigated. Fifteen genera and thirty - one species o...

In the present study, 3 replanted black pepper orchards with continuously cropping histories for 10, 21, and 55 years in tropical China, were selected for investigating the effect of monoculture on soil physiochemical properties, enzyme activities, bacterial abundance, and bacterial community structures. Results showed long-term continuous cropping led to a significant decline in soil pH, organ...