Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) Research

Latin Name: Elettaria cardamomum

Greater Cardamom: Amomum subulatum

Family: Zingeberaceae

Cardamom, in the same family as ginger, is a revered Indian herb used to improve digestive issues, respiratory complaints, and freshen the breathe.  In research, it has shown beneficial antimicrobial and analgesic actions.

RESEARCH

The listings of research below represent a compilation of scientific articles found on the species, with a very brief overview description of each article/study. Research found is catalogued by therapeutic action. This categorized compilation of research articles does not necessarily imply that there are adequate results to demonstrate safe and/or effective human use.

GENERAL

• This article provided an overview and folk uses of cardamom.  It is used as a digestive aid, as a diuretic, for nausea, for respiratory complaints, as an expectorant, for oral hygiene, for cardiac health, and for depression.  From:  Korikanthimathm, V. S., Prasath, D., & Rao, G. (2000). Medicinal properties of cardamom Elettaria cardamomum. J. Med. Arom. Crops, 22(4A), 685-685.
• Petersen, D. (2015). Aromatherapy materia medica.  Essential oil monographs.  American College of Healthcare Sciences.
• Aromaweb.  (n.d.)  Cardamom essential oil. Retrieved on 11/10/15.  Retrieved from www.aromaweb.com
• Tisserand, R. & Young, R. (2014).  Essential Oil Safety.  Second Edition.  Churchill, Livingstone, Elsevier.
• WebMD. (n.d.).  Caramom.  Retrieved in November, 2015.  Retrieved from www.webmd.com

SAFETY

• The essential oil is a mild skin sensitizer; skin patch test is recommended (Petersen, 2015).
• Avoid with young children due to high 1,8-cineole content (Tisserand & Young, 2014).
• Those with gallstones should maintain small doses – can induce spasmodic pain in large doses (WebMD, nd).

ANALGESIC

• Cardamom oil exerts its analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic action in rodents.  From:  Al-Zuhair, H., El-Sayeh, B., Ameen, H. A., & Al-Shoora, H. (1996). Pharmacological studies of cardamom oil in animals. Pharmacological research, 34(1), 79-82.

ANTI-CANCER

• The anti-oxidative potential of cinnamon and cardamom have been shown to enhance the level of detoxifying enzyme and decrease lipid peroxidation levels. From:  Bhattacharjee, S., Rana, T., & Sengupta, A. (2007). Inhibition of lipid peroxidation and enhancement of GST activity by cardamom and cinnamon during chemically induced colon carcinogenesis in Swiss albino mice. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 8(4), 578-582.
• Limonene and cineole constituents found in cardamom demonstrate promising effects against carcinogenesis and deserve further study.  From:  Acharya, A., Das, I., Singh, S., & Saha, T. (2010). Chemopreventive properties of indole-3-carbinol, diindolylmethane and other constituents of cardamom against carcinogenesis. Recent patents on food, nutrition & agriculture, 2(2), 166-177.
• Cardamom exhibited protective effects on experimentally induced colon carcinogenesis in mice and may be useful in colon cancer prevention.  From:  Sengupta, A., Ghosh, S., & Bhattacharjee, S. (2005). Dietary cardamom inhibits the formation of azoxymethane-induced aberrant crypt foci in mice and reduces COX-2 and iNOS expression in the colon. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 6(2), 118-122.
• Cardamom and its 1,8-cineole constituent showed anti-tumor activity.  From:  Bhattacharjee, B., & Chatterjee, J. (2013). Identification of proapoptopic, anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, anti-invasive and anti-angiogenic targets of essential oils in cardamom by dual reverse virtual screening and binding pose analysis. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 14(6), 3735-3742.
• Black pepper and cardamom exerted immunomodulatory roles and antitumor activities, and could be used to regulate inflammatory responses and prevent carcinogenesis.  From:  Majdalawieh, A. F., & Carr, R. I. (2010). In vitro investigation of the potential immunomodulatory and anti-cancer activities of black pepper (Piper nigrum) and cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum). Journal of Medicinal Food, 13(2), 371-381.
• This study demonstrated the potential of cardamom as a chemopreventive agent against two-stage skin cancer.  From:  Qiblawi, S., Al-Hazimi, A., Al-Mogbel, M., Hossain, A., & Bagchi, D. (2012). Chemopreventive effects of cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum L.) on chemically induced skin carcinogenesis in Swiss albino mice. Journal of medicinal food, 15(6), 576-580.
• Four compounds of cardamom were found to be non-mutagenic and non-carcinogenic.  From:  Balaji, S., & Chempakam, B. (2008). Mutagenicity and carcinogenicity prediction of compounds from cardamom (Elettaria cardamom Maton). Ethnobotanical Leaflets, 2008(1), 91.

​ANTIOXIDANT

• A mixture of coffee and cardamom could ameliorate the hazardous effects of oxidative stress induced by irradiation exposure.  From:  Hamzaa, R. G., & Osman, N. N. (2012). Using of Coffee and Cardamom Mixture to Ameliorate Oxidative Stress Induced in γ-irradiated Rats. Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry, 2012.
• A cardamom supplement taken for 8 weeks reduced inflammation and oxidative stress in 80 overweight pre-diabetic female patients.  From: Kazemi, S., Yaghooblou, F., Siassi, F., Rahimi Foroushani, A., Ghavipour, M., Koohdani, F., & Sotoudeh, G. (2017). Cardamom supplementation improves inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers in hyperlipidemic, overweight, and obese pre‐diabetic women: a randomized double‐blind clinical trial. Journal of the science of food and agriculture, 97(15), 5296-5301.
• Cardamom essential oil showed significant activities in all antioxidant tests as well as a broad spectrum of antifungal activity and the study determined the essential oil and oleoresin of cardamom to be useful as natural food preservatives.  From:  Kapoor, I. P. S., Singh, B., Singh, G., Isidorov, V., & Szczepaniak, L. (2008). Chemistry, antifungal and antioxidant activities of cardamom (Amomum subulatum) essential oil and oleoresins. International Journal of Essential Oil Therapeutics, 2(1), 29.​

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY

• A cardamom supplement taken for 8 weeks reduced inflammation and oxidative stress in 80 overweight pre-diabetic female patients.  From: Kazemi, S., Yaghooblou, F., Siassi, F., Rahimi Foroushani, A., Ghavipour, M., Koohdani, F., & Sotoudeh, G. (2017). Cardamom supplementation improves inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers in hyperlipidemic, overweight, and obese pre‐diabetic women: a randomized double‐blind clinical trial. Journal of the science of food and agriculture, 97(15), 5296-5301.

GASTRO-PROTECTIVE

• Helicobacter pylori can contribute to gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.  Botanical extracts that were most effective against H. pylori included:  Carum carvi, Elettaria cardamomum, Gentiana lutea, Juniper communis, Lavandula angustifolia, Melissa officinalis, Mentha piperita, Pimpinella anisum, Matricaria recutita, and Ginkgo biloba.  From:  Mahady, G. B., Pendland, S. L., Stoia, A., Hamill, F. A., Fabricant, D., Dietz, B. M., & Chadwick, L. R. (2005). In vitro susceptibility of Helicobacter pylori to botanical extracts used traditionally for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. Phytotherapy research, 19(11), 988-991.
• Elettaria cardamomum inhibited gastric lesions which could be useful in treating ulcers and other gastric disorders.  From: Jamal, A., Javed, K., Aslam, M., & Jafri, M. A. (2006). Gastroprotective effect of cardamom, Elettaria cardamomum Maton. fruits in rats. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 103(2), 149-153.    ​
• Cardamom exhibited gut excitatory and inhibitory effects and lowered blood pressure. The diuretic and sedative effects may be useful in treating hypertension and epilepsy.  From: Gilani, A. H., Jabeen, Q., Khan, A. U., & Shah, A. J. (2008). Gut modulatory, blood pressure lowering, diuretic and sedative activities of cardamom. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 115(3), 463-472.
• This study determined the gastroprotective effects of cardamom.  From:  Jafri, M. A., Javed, K., & Singh, S. (2001). Evaluation of the gastric antiulcerogenic effect of large cardamom (fruits of Amomum subulatum Roxb). Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 75(2), 89-94.
• Cardamom inhibited gastric lesions significantly.  From:  Jamal, A., Siddiqui, A., Aslam, M., Javed, K., & Jafri, M. A. (2005). Antiulcerogenic activity of Elettaria cardamomum Maton. and Amomum subulatum Roxb. seeds. Indian journal of traditional knowledge, 4(3), 298-302.

ANTI-ULCER

• Elettaria cardamomum inhibited gastric lesions which could be useful in treating ulcers and other gastric disorders.  From: Jamal, A., Javed, K., Aslam, M., & Jafri, M. A. (2006). Gastroprotective effect of cardamom, Elettaria cardamomum Maton. fruits in rats. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 103(2), 149-153.
• Cardamom inhibited gastric lesions significantly.  From:  Jamal, A., Siddiqui, A., Aslam, M., Javed, K., & Jafri, M. A. (2005). Antiulcerogenic activity of Elettaria cardamomum Maton. and Amomum subulatum Roxb. seeds. Indian journal of traditional knowledge, 4(3), 298-302.

ANTI-NAUSEA

• Percutaneous application on neck of Zingiber officinale (ginger), Elletaria cardamomum (cardamom) and Artemisia dracunculus (tarragon) essential oils in equal parts reduced postoperative nausea and vomiting 50-75%.  From:  De Pradier, E. (2006). A trial of a mixture of three essential oils in the treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting. International Journal of Aromatherapy, 16(1), 15-20.
• In a randomized study of 66 chemotherapy patients with nausea, the aroma of cardamom inhaled in three deep breathes (twice) in 5-minute intervals significantly reduced nausea and vomiting. From: Khalili, Z., Khatiban, M., Faradmal, J., Abbasi, M., Zeraati, F., & Khazaei, A. (2014). Effect of Cardamom aromas on the Chemotherapy-induced Nausea and Vomiting in Cancer Patients. Scientific Journal of Hamadan Nursing & Midwifery Faculty, 22(3), 64-73.

HEPATOPROTECTIVE

• Those rats with iron overload who ingested a blend of turmeric, clove, chli, and cardamom had improvement in the liver functions, suggesting a chemo-protective effect.  From: Sadeek, E. A., & El-Razek, F. A. (2010). The chemo-protective effect of turmeric, chili, cloves and cardamom on correcting iron overload-induced liver injury, oxidative stress and serum lipid profile in rat models. Journal of American Science, 6(10), 7.
• In this randomized study with 87 obese patients, taking green cardamom three times a day for three months significantly reduced biomarkers related to fatty liver disease. From:  Daneshi-Maskooni, M., Keshavarz, S. A., Qorbani, M., Mansouri, S., Alavian, S. M., Badri-Fariman, M., … & Sotoudeh, G. (2018). Green cardamom increases Sirtuin-1 and reduces inflammation in overweight or obese patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial. Nutrition & metabolism, 15(1), 63.

CARDIAC HEALTH

• Ingestion of cardamom extract may have beneficial effects on blood cholesterol, triglyceride, VLDL, HDL and LDL levels.  From:  Sailesh, K. S. (2013). A study on anti hyper lipidemic effect of oral administration of cardamom in wistar albino rats. Narayana Medical Journal, 2(1), 31-39.
• Extract of cardamom may protect platelets from aggregation and lipid peroxidation.  From:  Suneetha, W. J., & Krishnakantha, T. P. (2005). Cardamom extract as inhibitor of human platelet aggregation. Phytotherapy Research, 19(5), 437-440.
• A cardio-adaptogenic property of greater cardamom in mice was found. From: Verma, S. K., Rajeevan, V., Bordia, A., & Jain, V. (2010). Greater cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb.)–A cardio-adaptogen against physical stress. J. Herb. Med. Toxicol, 4(2), 55-58.

• Cardamom exhibited gut excitatory and inhibitory effects and lowered blood pressure. The diuretic and sedative effects may be useful in treating hypertension and epilepsy.  From: Gilani, A. H., Jabeen, Q., Khan, A. U., & Shah, A. J. (2008). Gut modulatory, blood pressure lowering, diuretic and sedative activities of cardamom. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 115(3), 463-472.

HYPOLIPIDEMIC

• Ingestion of cardamom extract may have beneficial effects on blood cholesterol, triglyceride, VLDL, HDL and LDL levels.  From:  Sailesh, K. S. (2013). A study on anti hyper lipidemic effect of oral administration of cardamom in wistar albino rats. Narayana Medical Journal, 2(1), 31-39.

ANTIMICROBIAL / ANTIFUNGAL / ANTIBACTERIAL

• This study assessed antimicrobial strength of cardamom and levels of toxicity in rats.  From:  El Malti, J., Mountassif, D., & Amarouch, H. (2007). Antimicrobial activity of Elettaria cardamomum: Toxicity, biochemical and histological studies. Food chemistry, 104(4), 1560-1568.
• Cardamom essential oil showed significant activities in all antioxidant tests as well as a broad spectrum of antifungal activity and the study determined the essential oil and oleoresin of cardamom to be useful as natural food preservatives.  From:  Kapoor, I. P. S., Singh, B., Singh, G., Isidorov, V., & Szczepaniak, L. (2008). Chemistry, antifungal and antioxidant activities of cardamom (Amomum subulatum) essential oil and oleoresins. International Journal of Essential Oil Therapeutics, 2(1), 29.
• Plants from the Zingiberaceae family and their antibacterial effects towards Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Listeria monocytogenes.  Essential oil of kaempferia and bastard cardamom could inhibit growth of all tested bacteria.  Essential oil of ginger had the highest efficiency against three positive strains of bacteria (S. aureus, B. cereus and L. monocytogenes)  From:  Natta, L., Orapin, K., Krittika, N., & Pantip, B. (2008). Essential oil from five Zingiberaceae for anti food-borne bacteria. Int Food Res J, 15, 337-346.
• Clove, kaffir lime peels, cardamom, coriander, and cumin showed various antibacterial activities. From:  Nanasombat, S., & Lohasupthawee, P. (2005). Antibacterial activity of crude ethanolic extracts and essential oils of spices against Salmonellae and other enterobacteria. Kmitl Sci. Tech. J, 5(3), 527-538.
• Cardamom essential oil exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi. Antifungal activity was tested against food-borne fungi that included: A. terreus, P. purpurogenum, F. graminearum and P. madriti. From:  Singh, G., Kiran, S., Marimuthu, P., Isidorov, V., & Vinogorova, V. (2008). Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of essential oil and various oleoresins of Elettaria cardamomum (seeds and pods). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 88(2), 280-289.
• Cardamom seed extract had an inhibitory activity on the following bacteria: M. smegmatis, K. pneumoniae, S. aureus, E. coli, E. faecalis, M. luteus and C. albicans where no such activity was detected on P. aeruginosa.  From:  AĞAOĞLU, S., Dostbil, N., & Alemdar, S. (2005). Antimicrobial effect of seed extract of cardamom (Elettarıa cardamomum Maton). YYÜ Vet Fak Derg, 16 (2): 99, 101, 477-480.
• Overall, E. cardamomum was found to have significant antibacterial activity.  From: Kaushik, P., Goyal, P., Chauhan, A., & Chauhan, G. (2010). In vitro evaluation of antibacterial potential of dry fruitextracts of Elettaria cardamomum Maton (Chhoti Elaichi). Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 287-292.

• Cardamom essential oil showed significant activities in all antioxidant tests as well as a broad spectrum of antifungal activity and the study determined the essential oil and oleoresin of cardamom to be useful as natural food preservatives.  From:  Kapoor, I. P. S., Singh, B., Singh, G., Isidorov, V., & Szczepaniak, L. (2008). Chemistry, antifungal and antioxidant activities of cardamom (Amomum subulatum) essential oil and oleoresins. International Journal of Essential Oil Therapeutics, 2(1), 29.
• Helicobacter pylori can contribute to gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.  Botanical extracts that were most effective against H. pylori included:  Carum carvi, Elettaria cardamomum, Gentiana lutea, Juniper communis, Lavandula angustifolia, Melissa officinalis, Mentha piperita, Pimpinella anisum, Matricaria recutita, and Ginkgo biloba.  From:  Mahady, G. B., Pendland, S. L., Stoia, A., Hamill, F. A., Fabricant, D., Dietz, B. M., & Chadwick, L. R. (2005). In vitro susceptibility of Helicobacter pylori to botanical extracts used traditionally for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. Phytotherapy research, 19(11), 988-991.
• Anethum graveolens, Elettaria cardamomum, Foeniculum vulgare, Trachyspermum ammi and Viola odorata were effective against tested pathogenic bacteria. From: Arora, D. S., & Kaur, G. J. (2007). Antibacterial activity of some Indian medicinal plants. Journal of natural medicines, 61(3), 313-317.

PRESERVATIVE

• A review of research was provided on the antibacterial and antioxidant actions of rosemary and cardamom, especially related to food preservation.  From:  Singh, R., & Jaglan, R. K. V. (2018). Antibacterial and antioxidant activity of green cardamom and rosemary extract in food products: A brief review.
• Cardamom essential oil showed significant activities in all antioxidant tests as well as a broad spectrum of antifungal activity and the study determined the essential oil and oleoresin of cardamom to be useful as natural food preservatives.  From:  Kapoor, I. P. S., Singh, B., Singh, G., Isidorov, V., & Szczepaniak, L. (2008). Chemistry, antifungal and antioxidant activities of cardamom (Amomum subulatum) essential oil and oleoresins. International Journal of Essential Oil Therapeutics, 2(1), 29.

SEDATIVE

• Unmadnashak Ghrita is an ayurvedic formulation containing giant fennel, gardenia, cardamom, waterhyssop, and cow’s ghee and had a CNS-depressant and anticonvulsant activity in mice.  From:  Achliya, G. S., Wadodkar, S. G., & Dorle, A. K. (2004). Evaluation of sedative and anticonvulsant activities of Unmadnashak Ghrita. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 94(1), 77-83.

LOWERING BLOOD PRESSURE

• In this human study, cardamom effectively reduced blood pressure, enhanced fibrinolysis and improved antioxidant status.  From: Verma, S. K., Jain, V., & Katewa, S. S. (2009). Blood pressure lowering, fibrinolysis enhancing and antioxidant activities of cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum).

INSECTICIDAL / PESTICIDAL

• Against head lice, eucalyptus, marjoram, pennyroyal, and rosemary oils beat  δ-phenothrin and pyrethrum and activity of cade, cardamone ceylon, clove bud, myrtle, rosewood, and sage oils were comparable with the test insecticides.  From:  Yang, Y. C., Lee, H. S., Clark, J. M., & Ahn, Y. J. (2004). Insecticidal activity of plant essential oils against Pediculus humanus capitis (Anoplura: Pediculidae). Journal of Medical Entomology, 41(4), 699-704.
• E. cardamomum was effective for control of stored product pests including the bruchid beetle, the red flour beetle, and the flour moth.  From: Abbasipour, H., Mahmoudvand, M., Rastegar, F., & Hosseinpour, M. H. (2011). Fumigant toxicity and oviposition deterrency of the essential oil from cardamom, Elettaria cardamomum, against three stored–product insects. Journal of Insect Science, 11(1), 165.   ​
• Fumigant, ovicidal, Larvicidal, and feeding deterrence of the essential oil of cardamom was measured against two stored-product insects, Sitophilus zeamais and Tribolium castaneum. From:  Huang, Y., Lam, S. L., & Ho, S. H. (2000). Bioactivities of essential oil from Elletaria cardamomum (L.) Maton. to Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky and: Tribolium castaneum (Herbst). Journal of Stored Products Research, 36(2), 107-117.

ANTI-ASTHMA

• Cardamom exhibits bronchodilatory effect, for use in treating asthma.  From: ullah Khan, A., Khan, Q. J., & Gilani, A. H. (2011). Pharmacological basis for the medicinal use of cardamom in asthma. Bangladesh Journal of Pharmacology, 6(1), 34-37.

TRANSDERMAL DRUG ABSORPTION

• Cardamom enhanced transdermal drug delivery by altering the barrier property of stratum corneum; the three components in cardamom oil of α-pinene, β-pinene, and α-terpineol, had a synergistic effect with 1,8-cineole and d-limonene to enhance the permeation of the drug indomethacin.  From: Huang, Y. B., Fang, J. Y., Hung, C. H., WU, P. C., & TSAI, Y. H. (1999). Cyclic monoterpene extract from cardamom oil as a skin permeation enhancer for indomethacin: in vitro and in vivo studies. Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin, 22(6), 642-646.

​ORAL HEALTH

• A review of the benefits of cardamom in oral health was provided.  From:  Jesylne, P., Soundarajan, S., Murthykumar, K., & Meenakshi, M. (2016). The Role of Cardamom Oil in Oral Health: A Short Review. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology, 9(3), 272.
• In this study of 50 subjects, chewing fennel and cardamom seeds improved oral saliva and plaque pH.  From:  Swathi, V., Rekha, R., Abhishek, J., Radha, G., Pallavi, S. K., & Gadde, P. (2016). Effect of chewing fennel and cardamom seeds on dental plaque and salivary ph–a randomized controlled trial. Int J Pharm Sci Res, 7(1), 406-412.
• The study discussed cardamom used for freshening breath.  From: Maxwell, J., Greenberg, M., Stawski, B., & Broderick, K. (2003). U.S. Patent Application No. 10/604,928.
• Cardamom can be used as an antimicrobial agents to treat dental caries.  From:  Aneja, K. R., & Joshi, R. (2009). Antimicrobial activity of Amomum subulatum and Elettaria cardamomum against dental caries causing microorganisms. Ethnobotanical Leaflets, 2009(7), 3.
• An herbal mouthwash containing Salvadora persica (toothbrush tree), Terminalia bellerica (bahera), Piper betle (betel), Gaultheria fragrantissima (Indian Wintergreen), Elettaria cardamomum (cardamom), Peppermint satva (peppermint), and Trachyspermum ammi (ajowan) was assessed in this randomized study of 90 nursing students.  It improved plaque and gingivitis issues over this 21 day study.  From:  Bagchi, S., Saha, S., Jagannath, G., Reddy, V., & Sinha, P. (2015). Evaluation of efficacy of a commercially available herbal mouthwash on dental plaque and gingivitis: A double-blinded parallel randomized controlled trial. Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry, 13(3), 222-222.

FEMALE HEALTH

• In a review of studies, the author found Matricaria chamomilla, elettaria cardamomum, pomegranate and spearmint syrup, lemon, and ginger to help pregnant women with nausea. From: Khorasani, F., Aryan, H., Sobhi, A., Aryan, R., Abavi-Sani, A., Ghazanfarpour, M., … & Rajab Dizavandi, F. (2019). A systematic review of the efficacy of alternative medicine in the treatment of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 1-10.

​QUITE SMOKING

• Some flavors of gum are effective in reducing the negative affect associated with nicotine withdrawal to help smokers quit.  From:  Cohen, L. M., Collins, F. L., VanderVeen, J. W., & Weaver, C. C. (2010). The effect of chewing gum flavor on the negative affect associated with tobacco abstinence among dependent cigarette smokers. Addictive behaviors, 35(11), 955-960.

Compiled by: Kathy Sadowski

Updated: 1/16/2020