Quick Facts
Botanical Name: Elettaria cardomomum
Family Name: Zingiberaceae
Common Name: GreenCardamom
Part used: Seeds
Specific Gravity: 0.920 - 0.936 at 20 °C
Optical Rotation: +22.0 - +44.0 at 20 °C
Refractive Index: 1.460 - 1.490 at 20 °C
Blends Well With: Rose, Clove oil, Cinnamon oilUses: It is used in various food & desert flavouring, milk dairy products, candies, ice creams, bakery, tea. This oil improves appetite.

Countries Where it is Found

Cardamom is native to India, Bhutan, and Nepal. Countries such as Sri Lanka, Mexico, and Thailand have begun cultivating cardamom. Today, Guatemala is the largest producer of cardamom followed by India.

Harvesting Information

The fruit of cardamom is harvested before it ripens and produces about 2 to 5 percent of the oil. The plant grows about 4 meters in length and bears seed pods after two years. Each pod measures about 1 to 2 centimeters.

History of the Plant

The word cardamom is derived from the Latin word cardamomum meaning spice plant. The plant has been used in traditional Ayurveda for centuries. It has been used in Portugal since the 16th century

Extraction Process

The essential oil of cardamom is obtained by steam distilling the cardamom seeds. The oil is clear to pale yellow to rich yellow colour with spicy aroma and woody taste.

Commonly known Benefits

Health Benefits:
€¢    Cardamom oil is a good digestive aid acting as a digestive tonic.
€¢    Cardamom oil is an appetite stimulant. It improves appetite.
€¢    The compounds in the oil have anti-oxidant properties that promote overall health.
€¢    The essential oil of cardamom is rich in minerals such as calcium, potassium, and magnesium. Potassium helps in controlling blood pressure while copper aids in red blood cell production.
€¢    The carminative properties of the oil relieve flatulence, stomach acid, and indigestion. The oil is effective against halitosis. It is used in the majority of South Asia to fight gum and tooth decay. It relieves sore throat and voice hoarseness.
€¢    In aromatherapy, the oil is used as massage oil to fight depression and stress.
Cardamom oil calms the stomach after incidents of diarrhoea and vomiting.
€¢    The oil also helps with teeth whitening, respiratory muscular spasms, and general muscular spasms.
€¢    It is used as a tonic for liver and heart; as an astringent for lower movement; anti-flatulence medicine; and as an appetizer.
€¢    The oil is an effective diuretic promoting bile secretion and liver de-congestion. It is also widely used in the treatment of neuralgia and gonorrhoea.
€¢    Cardamom Essential oil improves lung circulation, reduces mouth and pharynx inflammations, bronchitis, cold, asthma, respiratory allergies, and reduces gastric juices.
Cancer Prevention:
€¢    The oil consists of indole-3-carbinol (IC3) and diindolylmethane (DIM) that are well-known cancer fighters. These phytochemicals help in warding off prostate, breast, and ovarian cancers.

Other Benefits:

€¢    The cardamom oil is used in various Asian and Indian cuisines.
€¢    It is used by the Egyptians to make perfumes and teeth whiteners.
€¢    Used by the Romans to cure stomach problems.
€¢    The oil is used as a flavouring agent in both food and drinks.

Interesting facts about Cardamom

Cardamom,occasionally named as Grains of heaven, is a nipping and fragrant herbaceous plant first utilized long back about the 8th century, and is a native-born of India. It was believed that it spilt into Europe about A.D. 1214. Nowadays, cardamom is cropped in Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Guatemala, Mexico, Thailand and some parts of Central America.

Cardamom, rises to approximately 10 feet (3m) in height. Cardamom has big exits and white blossoms with blue stripe and yellow frames.

The yield is a little abridgment with eight to sixteen brownish cums. The cums are utilized as a zest and the plant itself is a continual herbaceous plant. It has a heavy and thick rootstock with blooming stems that rise 6 to 12 feet (1.83 to 3.6m) in height. Cardamom is utilized as an fragrant, healthful, and stimulant drug.

Indian cardamom is provided to groceries worldwide in other grades like: 'Alleppey Green additional brave' (AGEB), 'Alleppey Green vaulting' (AGB) and 'Alleppey Green higher-ranking' (AGS).

In India, black cardamom is felt higher-ranking for zesty and pastoral serves and can be utilized in big amounts of money. Black cardamoms raise and compound the preference of different factors if used after breaking down a scrap. Spirit and aroma that braces the taste buds when seasoned in rice and gist formulations, instead of a widely reach of drinkables and desserts. In India, it's a common component of Pan Masala.

Cardamom,oil is a valuable factor in nutrient formulations, perfumery, wellness foods, medicinal drug and drinkables.

Possible uses: It is used in flavouring, removal of bad breath, stomach disorders, curing the feeling of vomiting; it is an anti-bacterial herb, removes nervous stress, beneficial in cough and colds.