YahGarden

Herb library · Spice · Elettaria cardamomum

Cardamom

The green pods and fragrant seeds used in chai, coffee, curries and Nordic baking. A handful of small trials of cardamom powder suggest small changes in triglycerides and some blood markers; the evidence is thin and mixed.

Traditional use

Native to west and south India, cardamom is mentioned by the Sanskrit medical writer Susruta and was traded to the Greeks through Persia. Charaka's Samhita, in Kaviratna's 1890 translation, lists small cardamoms among the things to keep in the mouth for a clean, sweet mouth and a good appetite, and Dutt's 1877 compilation from Sanskrit medical works records that Hindu physicians used it mostly as an aromatic added to other medicines.Ayurvedic sources class it as digestive and heating and used it for cough and digestive complaints; it has also been used in breastfeeding for infant colic, to increase milk as part of an herbal mix, and in Sri Lanka as a tonic after childbirth. Recent trials have tested cardamom supplements for cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure.

Traditional energetics

What studies show

  • Limited

    Cholesterol and blood fats: two meta-analyses disagree in part. One (2020, five trials) found lower triglycerides but no change in total or LDL cholesterol; a larger one (2024, twelve trials) found small drops in total cholesterol and triglycerides but not LDL. Both call for larger, better-designed studies.

  • Limited

    Blood pressure and inflammation: a 2023 meta-analysis of eight small trials in people with metabolic syndrome found a very small drop in diastolic pressure and lower inflammation markers, but no change in systolic pressure; the authors note there were few trials with few participants.

  • Insufficient

    Nausea: a 2013 trial of 301 surgery patients found that sniffing a blend of ginger, spearmint, peppermint and cardamom oils eased nausea, but cardamom was not tested on its own.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • NoteThe trials gave cardamom as a supplement, not as a cooking spice; what is known about amounts larger than food amounts comes from these small trials only.
  • AllergyCardamom can cause allergy: a confectioner developed a chronic hand rash from handling it, and a 2024 report identified a protein as a possible cause of food allergy to cardamom.
  • InteractionCardamom supplements may affect blood fats and blood pressure; tell your clinician if you take medicines for either.
  • PregnancyLactMed records traditional use during breastfeeding but gives no safety data. No pregnancy safety information was found in the sources used here.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.

From the old books

What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.

“One who desires cleanliness and good odor (of the tongue or mouth), and appetite, should keep in his mouth the fruits of Jāti (g), Katuka (h), and Puga (i), as also of Lavanga (j), of Kakkolaka (k) good betel-leaves, camphor, and small cardamoms.”
Avinash Chandra Kaviratna (translator), Charaka-Samhita (1890), Sutrasthanam, ch. 5, p. 61. See the page of Charaka-Samhita, Sutrasthanam, ch. 5, p. 61 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Charaka-Samhita, Sutrasthanam, ch. 5, p. 61
“Dioscorides says:—“Choose that which is tough, well filled, closed; if not in this state, it is too old and has lost its aroma. The taste is pungent and somewhat bitter.””
William Dymock, C. J. H. Warden and David Hooper, Pharmacographia Indica (1890), vol. 3, p. 428. See the page of Pharmacographia Indica, vol. 3, p. 428 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Pharmacographia Indica, vol. 3, p. 428
“Cardamoms, heat, kill worms, cleanse the reins, and provoke urine.”
Nicholas Culpeper, Culpeper's Complete Herbal (1814), p. 250. See the page of Culpeper's Complete Herbal, p. 250 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Culpeper's Complete Herbal, p. 250

Sources

  1. Cardamom — Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Effects of cardamom supplementation on lipid profile: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials (Phytother Res, 2020) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Cardamom consumption may improve cardiovascular metabolic biomarkers in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (Nutr Res, 2024) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  4. The effect of green cardamom on blood pressure and inflammatory markers among patients with metabolic syndrome and related disorders (Phytother Res, 2023) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  5. Aromatherapy as treatment for postoperative nausea: a randomized trial (Anesth Analg, 2013) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  6. Allergic contact dermatitis from cardamom (Contact Dermatitis, 1975) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  7. Identification of the protein a-L-fucosidase as the possible cause of allergy to cardamom (J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol, 2024) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.