# Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum)

*Greek *kardamomon*; grains of paradise (of some writers)*

**Known today as.** *Elettaria cardamomum*, of the ginger family, whose seeds come in pale three-sided pods from India.

Kind: Plant  
Qualities: Hot and dry (Galenic tradition).

## What was it used for?

A warming aromatic, for a cold stomach, wind, and the head; in cordials and compounds.

## What does modern science say?

A spice; no clinical evidence for its medical uses.

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **1,8-cineole**: 
- **alpha-terpinyl acetate**: 
- **limonene**: 

**Mechanism.** The oil relaxes gut smooth muscle and is carminative; cineole is expectorant. Small trials report a fall in blood pressure in hypertensives at 3 g a day, which is not established.

**Dose.** Safe in food and spice amounts; the oil in quantity irritates the stomach.

**Standing.** In the German tradition (Commission E) for dyspepsia; no EMA monograph.

## What lore surrounds it?

Grieve: “In Egypt they are ground and put in coffee, and in the East Indies are used both as a condiment and for chewing with betel. Their use was known to the ancients.” The Ceylon wild cardamoms are “sometimes called in the East, Grains of Paradise, but they are not the product known by that name in Europe,” and the round Siam cardamoms “are probably those referred to by Dioscorides, and called Amomi uva by Pliny.”

## What did the older authorities say?

**Dioscorides.** Describes *kardamomon* brought from Armenia and the Bosporus, though whether his plant was ours is uncertain.

## Sources

- Dioscorides, *De materia medica*.
- Pomet, P. (1694). *Histoire générale des drogues* (English, *A Compleat History of Druggs*, 1712).
- Grieve, M. (1931). *A Modern Herbal*, “Cardamoms.” botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/cardam21.html
- Blumenthal, M., ed. (1998). *The Complete German Commission E Monographs*, “Cardamom seed.”
- Verma, S. K., et al. (2009). “Blood pressure lowering, fibrinolysis enhancing and antioxidant activities of cardamom.” *Indian Journal of Biochemistry and Biophysics* 46.

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*Cardamom.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-10-01. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/cardamom

Historical description, not medical advice.