• Matilda Asante, Precious Asante, Portia Nkumsah-Riverson, Anna Amokao-Mensah, and Yauniuck Dogbe.
• University of Ghana College of Health Sciences, Department of Dietetics, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences.
• Afr Health Sci. 2022 Dec 1; 22 (4): 229240229-240.

BackgroundSpices have a long history of both culinary use and health benefits. Ethnic spices are spices specific to a particular geographic location. In Ghana, there are varying perceptions and uses of ethnic spices which are mostly not documented.ObjectiveTo assess the use and perceived health benefits of ethnic spices among women in Accra, Ghana.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 370 women in randomly selected churches in Accra, Ghana. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain sociodemographic data and information on ethnic spice use. Chi-square test was used to determine the association between socio-demographic characteristics of participants and perceived health benefits of ethnic spice usage.ResultsThe most commonly consumed spices out of the 19 spices explored in this study were onion (98.4%), garlic (97.6%), ginger (96.8%) and chili pepper (84.1%). Majority of the participants perceived ginger (74.6%) and garlic (73.8%) as having health benefits. Age (p=.001) and self-reported health status (p=0.010) were significantly associated with perceived health benefits of the spices.ConclusionOnion, garlic, ginger and chili pepper were the four most commonly consumed ethnic spices. Age and self-reported health status of participants influenced perceived health benefits of ethnic spice usage.© 2022 Asante M et al.

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