Spice trade Spice trade The spice trade refers to the trade between historical civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa and Europe. Spices such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, and turmeric were known and used in antiquity for commerce in the Eastern World. These spices found their way into the Middle East before the beginning of the Christian era, where the true sources of these spices were withheld by the traders and associated with fantastic tales. Early writings and stone age carvings of neolithic age obtained indicates that India's southwest coastal port Muziris, in Kerala, had established itself as a major spice trade
Cassia gum Cassia gum The term cassia gum refers to the flour made from the endosperms of the seeds of "Senna obtusifolia" and "Senna tora" (also called "Cassia obtusifolia" or "Cassia tora"). It is composed of at least 75% polysaccharide, primarily galactomannan with a mannose:galactose ratio of 5:1, resulting in a high molecular mass of 200,000-300,000 Da. In 1995, cassia gum was added to the list of approved food additives in Japan by the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare. Two GRAS notices were filed to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), one on June 23, 2000 (GRN 51) and one