From phytochemicals to recipes: health indications and culinary uses of herbs and spices

Herbs and spices each contain about 3000 phytochemicals on average, and there is much traditional knowledge on their health benefits. However, there is a lack of systematic studies to understand the relationship among herbs and spices, their phytochemical constituents, their potential health benefits, and their usage in regional cuisines. Here, we use a network-based approach to elucidate established relationships and predict novel associations between the phytochemicals present in herbs and spices and health indications. Our top 100 inferred indication-phytochemical relationships rediscover 40% known relationships and 20% that have been inferred via gene-chemical interactions with high confidence. The remaining 40% are hypotheses generated in a principled way for further experimental investigations. We also develop an algorithm to find the minimum set of spices needed to cover a target group of health conditions. Drawing on spice usage patterns in several regional Indian cuisines and a copy-mutate model for regional cuisine evolution, we characterize the spectrum of health conditions covered by existing regional cuisines. The spectrum of health conditions can expand through the nationalization/globalization of culinary practice.