各種栽培植物的乾制部分，內含芳香、辛辣、藥用或其他人們所需要的物質。香料是熱帶、亞熱帶芳香或辛辣植物的製品，有小豆蔻、錫蘭肉桂、丁香、姜和辣椒。香料籽包括茴芹、葛縷子、歐蒔蘿、茴香、罌粟科和芝麻。香草是墨角蘭、薄荷、迷迭香和百里香等植物氣味芬芳的葉片。在遠古，香料和香草最主要的用途是製藥、製造聖油和油膏，又可用作春藥。也用作食物和飲料的調料，並抑制或遮掩食物變質。香料貿易（包括茶）在人類史上扮演着重要的角色。早期重要的貿易路線，包括亞洲與中東之間和歐洲與亞洲之間的路線，即是為取得外國香料與香草而形成的。15世紀時的探索之旅主要是因香料貿易而開始，17世紀時，葡萄牙和英屬、荷屬、法屬東印度公司間為取得控制權而有激烈的戰鬥（參閲East India Company、East India Co., Dutch和East India Co., French）。
spice and herb
Dried parts of various plants cultivated for their aromatic, savory, medicinal, or otherwise desirable substances. Spices are the fragrant or pungent products of such tropical or subtropical species as cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and pepper; spice seeds include anise, caraway, cumin, fennel, poppy, and sesame. Herbs are the fragrant leaves of such plants as marjoram, mint, rosemary, and thyme. The most notable uses of spices and herbs in very early times were in medicine, in the making of holy oils and unguents, and as aphrodisiacs; they were also used to flavor food and beverages and to inhibit or hide food spoilage. Trade in spices, including tea, has played a major role in human history. Important early trade routes, including those between Asia and the Middle East and between Europe and Asia, were initially forged to obtain exotic spices and herbs. The 15th-century voyages of discovery were launched largely as a result of the spice trade, and in the 17th century. Portugal and the British, Dutch, and French East India companies battled furiously for dominance (see British East India Co., Dutch East India Co., French East India Co.).
