Spices are dried seeds, fruits, roots, barks or vegetables used mainly for flavoring, coloring or preserving food. They are distinguished from herbs which are parts of leafy green plants. Many spices have antimicrobial properties which may explain their use in warmer climates with more infectious diseases and for meat which spoils easily. The spice trade developed in South Asia and the Middle East around 2000 BCE with cinnamon and pepper and in East Asia with herbs and pepper. Egyptians also used herbs for embalming which helped stimulate early world trade. By 1000 BCE medical systems using herbs existed in China, Korea and India, originally connected with magic, medicine, religion and food preservation.

1. A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark,
or vegetabl substance primarily used
for flavoring, coloring or preserving food.
Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are parts
of leafy green plants used for flavoring or as a garnish.
Many spices have antimicrobial properties. This may
explain why spices are more commonly used in warmer
climates, which have moreinfectious disease, and why
the use of spices is prominent in meat, which is
particularly susceptible to spoiling
The spice trade developed
throughout South Asia and Middle
East in around 2000 BCE
with cinnamon and pepper, and in East
Asia with herbs and pepper. The
Egyptians used herbs for embalming and
their demand for exotic herbs helped
stimulate world trade. The
wordspice comes from the
Old French word espice, which
became epice, and which came from the
Latin root spec, the noun referring to
"appearance, sort, kind": species1 has the
same root. By 1000 BCE, medical systems
based upon herbs could be found in China,
Korea, and India. Early uses were connected
with magic, medicine, religion, tradition, and
preservation
Proiect realizat de : Neacsu Danut - Nae Adrian Cosmin
Profesor: Mihai Daniel Frumuselu
Universitatea:Facultatea de Management ,Inginerie
Economica in Agricultura si
Dezvoltare Rurala