## 1 Introduction  
According to the International Organization for Standardization [1], spices are natural plant products used to improve the flavor, aroma, taste and color of food products that may also have additional properties; e.g., antioxidant or bacteriostatic properties. There are about 109 spices grown in different parts of the world, and India is known as the \"Land of Spices\". Spices are derived from different parts of plants: seeds (e.g., cardamom), leaves (e.g., bay leaf), flowers buds (e.g., clove), fruits (e.g., pepper), bark (e.g., cinnamon) and rhizome (e.g., ginger). A wide variety of spice plants provide edible seeds. Seeds are the dominant source of human calories and protein [2; 3]. Seed protein is a composite of hundreds of different enzymes and structural proteins; however, its protein complement is dominated by a family of storage proteins [4]. The most important and popular seed food sources are cereals, followed by legumes and nuts. Spice plants are used in beverages, liquiors and pharmaceutical, cosmetic and perfumery products. Some algae, such as spirulina and chlorella, are also used as color and flavor additives. They can be found in many applications around the world; e.g., powdered algae are used in a wide range of products, such as pasta, soups and sauces [5; 6]. Nutritionists at the Food and Nutrition Institute have placed spice plants in a new nutrition pyramid along with updated guidance on the proper behavior and nutrition required to stay healthy. Spice plants, due to their aromatic and taste properties, can help diversify people's diets and, most importantly of all, limit salt consumption [7]. In terms of nutrition, spice plants contain variable amounts of protein, fat and carbohydrates and small quantities of vitamins and inorganic elements. Moreover, they supply secondary plant metabolites, including glucosides, saponins, tannins, alkaloids, essential oils, organic acids and others, that possess medicinal, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties [8; 9]. The bioaccessibility of polyphenols--i.e., the extent to which they can be released and absorbed in the digestive tract and used by the body--is an important issue. The affinity and binding of proteins from different sources to phenolic compounds is a widely studied phenomenon [10]. Whether this interaction also impacts the bioaccessibility of polyphenols is still a matter of debate. The content and relative bioaccessibility of antioxidant components from plant raw materials and products (various types of nuts, cereal grains, groats, lupine seeds, etc.) depend on many factors, including the type of raw material used (species, variety, origin), the degree of purification and the type of technological or culinary processing, as well as the composition of the food product [3; 11]. Compounds contained in the plant matrix may limit the absorption of antioxidant ingredients in the gastrointestinal tract; for instance, fiber (e.g., hemicellulose), bivalent elements and sticky and protein-rich meals may limit the bioaccessibility of polyphenols, while easily digestible carbohydrates, fats (especially for hydrophobic polyphenols; e.g., curcumin) and antioxidants may increase the availability of these compounds [12]. In order to understand the biological activity of polyphenols, it is necessary to broaden knowledge about the factors influencing their bioaccessibility, including nutritional factors. The antimicrobial activity of spice plants has been an object of interest for scientists since before the 20 th century. Since that time, numerous different plants have been tested for antibacterial and antifungal properties, and many of them have been found to have activities against microorganisms. However, the major antimicrobial components of spices are in their essential oils. The majority of the antimicrobial components of spices are phenol compounds with a hydroxyl group (-OH) [13; 14]. The most active are carvacrol, eugenol and thymol [15; 16]. Some of these compounds are also toxic to animals, but others may not be toxic.