Cumin Slows Down Aging

Bitter cumin is widely used in traditional medicine in treatment of various diseases - from vitiligo to hyperglycosemia. This spice has antiparasitic and antimicrobic properties and may be also used as antifebrile and pain-killer remedy.

Now one more advantage may be added to those mentioned above: scientists from Indian Central Food Technological Research Institute claim that cumin... slows down aging. Here again do help wonderful properties of antioxidants (substances that reduce oxidative stress and prevent from diseases) of relieving free radicals from the body. Cumin contains phenolic substances (polyphenols) that are considered antioxidants.

Using various biochemical and biological technologies, Indian researchers studied in experiments this property of bitter cumin seeds. In biologic tests bitter cumin inhibited aging of liposomes that were cellular membrane aging models and provided full protection against DNA damage.

However, the amount of phenols derived from the plant and its antioxidant activity depended on examination methods used. Antioxidant properties of cumin were correlated with common phenol concentration, so perhaps exactly phenolic compounds in bitter cumin seeds are the source of antioxidant properties of the plant.