Potential Benefit of Spices for Improving Mental Health

Mental health is an issue receiving increased global attention. It has been estimated that 1 in 5 American adults reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression, which are considered major causes of disability. Changes in cognitive function also may accompany depression and anxiety that affect mental processes such as perception, learning, memory, understanding, and reasoning. Inconsistent responses to standard pharmaceutical agents and undesirable side effects have contributed to a growing interest in identifying alternatives to approved medicines for the treatments of psychological disorders. Specifically, the efficacies of biologically active herbal substances, dietary supplements, and nutraceuticals are being actively researched for the capacity to slow psychological problems and cognitive decline or as adjuncts to approved drugs. This narrative review is intended to be a descriptive summary of the scientific literature on the effects in humans of spice interventions for improving mental health, specifically depression, anxiety, and cognitive decline, so as to clarify the current state of knowledge, identify knowledge gaps, and highlight areas for future research for the reader.