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Herb library · Herb · Aframomum melegueta

Grains of paradise

Peppery seeds of a West African plant in the ginger family, used as a spice for centuries. Supplement extracts are now sold for weight loss; a few small trials found modest changes in energy use and belly fat.

Traditional use

The seeds are a spice across West Africa and a traditional remedy there for stomach ache, diarrhea and snakebite; the spice is also used in rites and ceremonies. In medieval Europe they were used as pepper and in spiced wine, and in the 1800s mainly to flavor liquors. J. H. Holland (1922) records it as oburo among the Yoruba, where it was said to be a medicine for the throat, and as chitta in Hausa, and notes that the medieval Grain Coast of West Africa took its name from the trade in these seeds.

What studies show

  • Limited

    Energy use and body fat: small placebo-controlled trials of a seed extract (9 to 70 people, from a single dose to 12 weeks) found a rise in energy expenditure and a small drop in visceral (belly) fat. Most were single-blind, and the largest was run by the extract's manufacturer.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • NoteAs a kitchen spice it is widely eaten. The trials of concentrated extracts reported no adverse effects, but they were small and short.
  • NoteIn a 28-day rat study, high doses of a seed extract enlarged the liver and raised a liver enzyme, and the researchers said liver toxicity should be considered.
  • PregnancyIn a rat study, rats fed the spice once in early pregnancy had no litters, and the authors warned that eating large amounts may be a risk early in pregnancy. Ask a clinician before using extracts or large amounts in pregnancy.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using extracts or capsules if you take prescription medicines, have liver disease, 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.

“The seeds together with those of A. Melegueta (q.v.) at one time came into commerce largely as a spice, although latterly of less importance than when the “Grain Coast” in West Africa, during the middle ages—14th to 15th cent. (see Johnston, Liberia i. pp. 56, 57)—took its name from them as the most important source.”
J. H. Holland, The Useful Plants of Nigeria, Part IV (Kew Bulletin, Additional Series IX) (1922), Part IV, p. 661. See the page of The Useful Plants of Nigeria, Part IV (Kew Bulletin, Additional Series IX), Part IV, p. 661 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from The Useful Plants of Nigeria, Part IV (Kew Bulletin, Additional Series IX), Part IV, p. 661
““Oburo” is said to be a medicine for throat in Yoruba (Kew Bull. 1891, p. 209).”
J. H. Holland, The Useful Plants of Nigeria, Part IV (Kew Bulletin, Additional Series IX) (1922), Part IV, p. 661. See the page of The Useful Plants of Nigeria, Part IV (Kew Bulletin, Additional Series IX), Part IV, p. 661 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from The Useful Plants of Nigeria, Part IV (Kew Bulletin, Additional Series IX), Part IV, p. 661
“Both are faintly aromatic in odor, but have a very hot, peppery taste. Under the name of “grains” they were used as pepper, and as an ingredient of a spiced wine—hippocras—containing also ginger and cinnamon, they were quite popular in the middle ages.”
Harvey Wickes Felter and John Uri Lloyd, King's American Dispensatory (1898), vol. 1, p. 447. See the page of King's American Dispensatory, vol. 1, p. 447 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from King's American Dispensatory, vol. 1, p. 447

Sources

  1. Grains of paradise (Aframomum melegueta) extract activates brown adipose tissue and increases whole-body energy expenditure in men (Br J Nutr, 2013) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Daily ingestion of grains of paradise (Aframomum melegueta) extract increases whole-body energy expenditure and decreases visceral fat in humans (J Nutr Sci Vitaminol, 2014) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Prolonged Treatment with Grains of Paradise (Aframomum melegueta) Extract Recruits Adaptive Thermogenesis and Reduces Body Fat in Humans with Low Brown Fat Activity (J Nutr Sci Vitaminol, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  4. Aframomum melegueta Seed Extract with Standardized Content of 6-Paradol Reduces Visceral Fat and Enhances Energy Expenditure in Overweight Adults (Drug Des Devel Ther, 2022) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  5. Toxicological evaluation of grains of paradise (Aframomum melegueta) [Roscoe] K. Schum. (J Ethnopharmacol, 2010) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  6. Effect of alligator pepper (Zingiberaceae aframomum melegueta) on first trimester pregnancy in Sprague Dawley rats (Niger J Physiol Sci, 2009) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.