The efficacy and function of cardamom

In daily life, people are not only very familiar with various foods, but also come into contact with a lot of medicines in daily life. Among them, cardamom is a relatively common Chinese medicinal material. Given that there are still many people who don’t know much about cardamom, let’s take a detailed look at it below.

【English name】 fruit of Fragrant Amomum

【Other Names】Gagora, Nepalese Cardamom

[Source] Medicinal material source: The seeds of the cardamom plant of the Cap family.

[Original form] Cardamom, a perennial, sturdy herb, 1-2m tall. The lower leaves of the plant are sessile or nearly sessile, and the upper leaves are 1-3 cm long; the ligule is membranous, 3-4 mm long, slightly concave, glabrous, and rounded at the tip; the leaf blade is oblong-lanceolate, 27-60 cm long, 3.5-11 cm wide, with a long tail tip at the tip, a rounded or cuneate base, and glabrous on both sides. The spike inflorescence is nearly top-shaped, emerging from the rhizome, with a diameter of about 5cm; the peduncle is 0.5-4.5cm long, with brown scales, ovate bracts, about 3cm long, light red, and awl-shaped at the apex; the bracteoles are tubular, about 5cm long, split to the middle, and the lobes are awl-shaped; the corolla tube is equal in length to the calyx tube, the lobes are yellow, nearly equal in length, and the lobes at the posterior part are awl-shaped at the apex; the lip is oblong, about 3cm long, with the apex turning inward and with obvious veins, the midrib is yellow and covered with white soft hairs; the lateral reduced stamens are awl-shaped, about 2mm long, and red; the filaments are about 5mm long and 3mm wide, and the anthers are about 10mm long; the connective appendages are elliptical, entire, and about 4mm long. The capsule is spherical, 2.5 cm in diameter, purple or reddish brown, indehiscent, with more than 10 wavy narrow wings, a persistent calyx on top, inactive or nearly inactive, flowering from May to June, fruiting from June to September.

[Habitat distribution] Ecological environment: Grown in moist forests at an altitude of 300-1300m

[Properties] The fruit is long oval, slightly curved, flat on one side, 1.5-2.5cm long and 0.8-1.5cm in diameter. The surface is gray-brown, with obvious longitudinal ridges and irregular protrusions, and an elongated tubular calyx at the tip. The fruit has 3 chambers, each chamber contains 6-12 seeds, which are gray-brown and irregular polyhedrons. The peel is thick and not easy to tear. It has a faint smell and a slightly spicy taste.

【Chemical composition】 The seeds contain subulin, cardamonin, alpinetin, petunidin-3,5-diglucoside, and leucocyanidin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside. The fruit contains α- and β-pinene, myrcene, α-terpinene, p-cymene, 4-terpineol, δ-terpineol, nerolidol, limonene, sabinene, 1,8-cineole, γ-terpinene, α-terpineol, α-bisabolene, β-terpineol, and α-terpinyl acetate.

【Nature and flavor】 Spicy; warm

【Meridian】 Lung; Liver; Stomach; Large Intestine

【Functions and indications】Dispel cold, promote qi circulation, strengthen the stomach and aid digestion. Mainly used for abdominal distension and pain; indigestion; cough due to lung cold

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: decocted in water, 3-6g.

[Discussions by various scholars] "Xinhua Compendium of Materia Medica": It has the functions of dispelling wind, reducing swelling and relieving pain. Used for gastrointestinal flatulence, food stagnation, sore throat, cough, tuberculosis and other symptoms.

【Excerpt】 Chinese Materia Medica

Everyone should know about the medicinal value of cardamom, so you can be more targeted when consuming it in your daily life. More reasonable use of medicine can better treat some common diseases.