**1. Introduction**

Herbs and spices are very important in food technology, gastronomy and home cooking. Spices are most often defined as products of plant origin [1]. Initially their use was mainly combined with flavoring and improving the appearance of food. Then, it was pointed out that spices have preservative, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, which significantly affect the shelf life and value of food [2]. Although the preservative properties of spices have been known to mankind since ancient times, nowadays, thanks to highly advanced analytical methods, we are learning about the compounds that are responsible for this action [3]. Health-protective properties are another benefit of the use of spices. Herbs and spices are carriers of numerous chemical compounds with health-improving properties that can provide potential protection against cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes type 2, and cancer [4]. However, we must remember the differences in terminology and we want to pay special attention to the difference between medicinal herbs, which are classified as medicinal products, and herbs, which are in turn food products.

Black pepper [*Piper nigrum* L.] and cinnamon [*Cinnamomum* spp.] are very popular spices in Poland. In 2020, imports of black pepper to Europe amounted to 80,000 tons, of which 6% was imported to Poland, and it was the 6th largest importer of black pepper in Europe. Over 75% of Polish pepper imports are whole grains. Part of the imported pepper is re-exported, and the estimated domestic consumption in 2020 was 5400 tons [5]. Among European countries, Poland ranks 6th when it comes to cinnamon imports (other than cinnamon Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume neither crushed nor ground) and it accounts for 0.74% of total world imports. When it comes to cinnamon Cinnamomum zeylanicum B. neither crushed nor ground, Poland ranks 8th among the European countries with

**Citation:** Newerli-Guz, J.; Smiechowska, M. Health Benefits ´ and Risks of Consuming Spices on the Example of Black Pepper and Cinnamon. *Foods* **2022**, *11*, 2746. https://doi.org/10.3390/ foods11182746

Academic Editors: Andreas Eisenreich and Bernd Schaefer

Received: 5 August 2022 Accepted: 2 September 2022 Published: 7 September 2022

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**Copyright:** © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

imports amounting to 0.32% [6]. Those two spices are one of the most consumed spices in Europe and Poland with a wide range of uses [7,8]. The aim of this work was to make a commodity characterization of these spices in the context of their potential importance for the consumer. In the above-mentioned spices, the main bioactive substances were determined and compared with the results of other authors' research. Specifically, the antioxidant properties of the spices were determined as these are most often mentioned in the discussion of health-promoting properties of spices. Additionally, piperine and coumarine were chosen as representative biomarkers of the quality of black pepper and cinnamon, respectively. Piperine is the most important bioactive compound of black pepper, while coumarin due to its hepatotoxic activity should be closely monitored in any products with the addition of cinnamon.

An attempt was also made to determine the significance of the addition of a given spice to food on its health-promoting impact.

## **2. Characteristics of Selected Spices and Its Relevance to the Consumer**
