World Journal of
Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences

NICE HOLISTIC FLORA ALLSPICE NEEDS NOT TO PAY MUCH MORE PRICE IN SPICE

Prof. Dr. Badmanaban R., Prof. Dr. David Banji, *Prof. Dr. Dhrubo Jyoti Sen and Mr. Goutham Retheesh

ABSTRACT

Allspice is pungent and fragrant. It is not a blend of "all spices," but its taste and aroma remind many people of a mix of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Christopher Columbus discovered Allspice in the Caribbean. Although he was seeking pepper, he had never actually seen real pepper and he thought Allspice was it. Allspice trees are evergreen medium sized, grow up to a height of 8-10 meters and with a slender upright trunk and smooth greyish bark. The mail trees produce only few fruits. The male and female trees are similar in appearance and cannot be identified till flowering commences. The tree is indigenous to West Indies (Jamaica) but is also found in Central America. Attempts to introduce into countries in tropical regions didn’t succeed fully. In India, there are few trees in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. The dried berries range in size (6.5-9.5 mm in diameter) and there are 13-14 berries per gram. The quality of pimento is affected by factors like growing area, stage of maturity of berries at harvest and storage conditions. The major use of allspice is in food industry (65-70%) in domestic use (5%-10%), production of berry oil (20-25%), extraction of oleoresin (1-2%) and pharmaceutical and perfume industry. Berry, berry oil, oleoresin, leaf oil are products of economic use. It is used mostly in Western cooking and less suitable for Eastern cooking. It has medicinal, anti-microbial, insecticidal, nematocidal, anti-oxidant and deodorant properties.

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