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The Agronomy and Economy of Cardamom ( Elettaria cardamomum M.): The “Queen of Spices”
Abstract
Cardamom, popularly known as the "Queen of Spices," has a checkered history, dating back to the Vedic period (ca. 3000 bc) and is among the ingredients poured into the sacrificial fire during the Hindu marriage. Today cardamom commands a leading position among the spices of immense commercial importance and is finding its way into the dietary habits of millions around the world, even among people on the European and North American continents, hitherto unaccustomed to its use. Cardamom use ranges from a simple dietary constituent to that of immense pharmacological benefits. Although beset with many problems, both agronomic and economic, it is a safe bet that next to black pepper, cardamom will emerge in the world market as a spice of immense commercial importance. Although India was the world leader in cardamom production, starting from the 1970s the country began to slide down both in production and productivity, while Guatemala, took the leading position, although the cardamom produced there is of inferior quality. Among the primary constraints of production, is the absence of an ideotype that combines many positive traits to boost production potential, while at the same time resisting the ravages of the devastating viral disease Katte of the Karnataka State in southern India. Fertility management of cardamom soils is still rooted in classic "textbook knowledge." This exhaustive chapter covering many aspects of the agronomy and economy of cardamom production, has also a separate chapter on the relevance of "The Nutrient Buffer Power Concept," developed by the author, in enhancing cardamom productivity. © 2006, Elsevier Inc.
... Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton, belonging to the family Zingiberaceae is native to southern India. It is cultivated in Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Iran, Morocco, Costa Rica, Papua New Guinea, Laos, Tanzania, Guatemala, El Salvador and Central America (1)(2)(3). Elettaria (generic name), which refers to the seeds of cardamom, is derived from the Tamil word 'Elettari' (means 'granules of leaf') (1)(2)(3). Due to the characteristic taste and aroma of its dried fruits, E. cardamomum (commonly referred as 'true cardamom' or 'green cardamom' or 'small cardamom') is known as the 'Queen of spices'. ...
... It is cultivated in Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Iran, Morocco, Costa Rica, Papua New Guinea, Laos, Tanzania, Guatemala, El Salvador and Central America (1)(2)(3). Elettaria (generic name), which refers to the seeds of cardamom, is derived from the Tamil word 'Elettari' (means 'granules of leaf') (1)(2)(3). Due to the characteristic taste and aroma of its dried fruits, E. cardamomum (commonly referred as 'true cardamom' or 'green cardamom' or 'small cardamom') is known as the 'Queen of spices'. Over centuries cardamom capsules have been used in traditional medicines and for culinary purposes in various cultures (1). ...
... Over centuries cardamom capsules have been used in traditional medicines and for culinary purposes in various cultures (1). Cardamom is also mentioned in the ancient Indian Ayurvedic texts, Charaka Samhita and Susrutha Samhita (1,2). E. cardamomum is a constituent of Brahmi rasayana, which is commonly used as a nerve tonic and in the treatment of epilepsy (4). ...
Elettaria cardamomum is known as the ‘Queen of spices’; its leaf essential oil (EO) is least investigated and barely utilized. Here we report the chemical composition of E. cardamomum leaf EOs collected from five locations in the southern Western Ghats in India. EOs of fresh and dry capsules were also analyzed for comparison of their chemical profiles. The major constituents in cardamom leaf EOs were β-pinene (35.6-51.9%) and coronarin E (17.7-34.2%). In fumigant toxicity assays against two stored product pests, lowest LC50 against Tribolium castaneum was recorded in EO of fresh capsules (124.05 µL/L), followed by dry capsules (LC50 128.21 µL/L) and leaves (LC50 148.00 µL/L); LC50s of fresh, dry capsule and leaf EOs against Sitophilus oryzae were 30.24, 35.33 and 89.42 µL/L, respectively. This study demonstrates cardamom leaves as a source of untapped bioactive principles which can be viably utilized for the production of botanical pesticides.
... El cultivo de cardamomo es una planta perenne de la familia Zingiberácea, originaria de los bosques de la India meridional, donde aún se cultiva, aunque en la actualidad es producida principalmente por Guatemala, al que se le atribuye el dominio en el precio a nivel mundial por su capacidad productiva y de respuesta ante una demanda constante por Arabia Saudita, India, Singapur y Paquistán, países que han llegado a concentrar hasta el 73% de las importaciones mundiales y en menores proporciones la demanda corresponde a China y países europeos (Alemania, Francia y Reino Unido) y EEUU, entre otros (OLENNIKOV; ROKHIN, 2013;KISHORE et al., 2011;LUCCHESI et al., 2007;NAIR, 2006;SANGAKKARA, 1995). ...
... De igual forma, los valores son similares a los reportados para la semilla de cardamomo, variedad Malabar, con proteína (6,0%), humedad (9,0%) y extracto etéreo (5,3%). En todos los casos la fibra estuvo por debajo de los valores reportados, debido posiblemente al empleo de la semilla sin cáscara (PAVAS; VEGA, 2005;NAIR, 2006). ...
... Por su parte, la concentración de acetato de α-terpenilo puede ser considerada la variable dependiente más susceptible, por afectarse con el aumento de la presión, debido al comportamiento que presenta el solvente con respecto a su capacidad baja de extraer compuestos polares y solubilizando mejor los compuestos apolares, de esta forma el CO 2 tendrá la capacidad de extraer mayor concentración del acetato de α-terpenilo por presentar una estructura cíclica como la del ciclohexeno y la cadena alifática, a pesar de poseer un grupo funcional polar como el éster, similar a los resultados obtenidos en las extracciones realizadas con hexano (LUQUE DE CASTRO et al., 1993;NAIR, 2006). ...
Resumen El objetivo de este trabajo radicó en encontrar las condiciones óptimas para la obtención de un aceite de cardamomo, extraído por FSC a escala semi-industrial, con rendimientos iguales o superiores a los métodos convencionales, pero con calidad sensorial y técnica competitiva para los mercados internacionales, así como la producción de microcápsulas del aceite que permitieran incrementar la solubilidad, sin afectar las características sensoriales como aroma y sabor. Las semillas de cardamomo se obtuvieron en el municipio de Tarso, (Antioquia, Colombia), se acondicionaron para ser extraídas por FSC a escala de laboratorio a 200.400 bar y 50 °C, 60 °C, con tres réplicas al centro a 300 bar y 55 °C, de acuerdo a un diseño central compuesto y la optimización de los resultados por superficie de respuesta según el rendimiento (%) y contenido de 1,8-cineol y acetato de α-terpenilo. Las condiciones finales (50 °C, 400 bar) se escalaron a un extractor semi-industrial hasta obtener un aceite con un rendimiento de 8,54 ± 1,09% y una concentración de 1,8-cineol (28,37 ± 1,80% p/p) y acetato de α-terpenilo (32,93 ± 1,24% p/p), analizados por GC-FID. La caracterización complementaria del aceite se encaminó al perfil sensorial y pruebas fisicoquímicas, con un resultado de atributos balanceados (herbal: 3,0, menta: 2,6, floral: 2,4 y cítrico: 2,3) e índice de color entre (+2 y +20). El aceite fue microencapsulado por secado por aspersión con una mezcla de goma arábiga, maltodextrina y almidón modificado (4/6, 1/6, 1/6) respectivamente. Se obtuvieron microcápsulas con un tamaño de partícula entre 12,2 y 25,78 µm y una distribución de la misma en solución acuosa de 13,18 µm, lo que permitió el aumento de la solubilidad del aceite en una matriz polar a temperatura ambiente.
... In traditional Chinese medicine, cardamom is attributed to improving people's vision when it is combined with a teaspoonful of honey and consumed on a daily basis (Singh and Singh, 1996). On the contrary, some people are concerned that an excessive amount of cardamom might render males infertile (Nair, 2011). In traditional Tibetan medicine, cardamom and long pepper are utilized to cure a variety of health conditions, inclusive of glycemic imbalance, obesity, kidney and liver dysfunction, and heart disease. ...
... Cardamom will cause you to have to urinate more often if you consume it. Ariyau kashayam, which consists of six different grains and cardamom, is a traditional medicine in India that is utilized to cure eczema and other skin disorders in young children (Nair, 2011). In a study that was conducted on the impact of cardamom extract on the transdermal-dermal distribution of indomethacin, Huang et al., (1999) discovered that cardamom ...
The term “Elettaria cardamomum,” which is the Latin name for cardamom,
originates from the Tamil terminology for cardamom seeds, which is “Elettari.”
The use of E. cardamomum capsules in traditional medicine have been
shown to be effective in treating a wide variety of conditions, such as gum
and tooth infections, asthma, nausea, cataracts, diarrhea, and even stomach,
heart, and renal problems. The ingestion of cardamom capsules has been
linked to a number of other beneficial health effects, which are relevant
from both a historical and a modern therapeutic point of view. Studies on
the phytochemistry of small cardamom have shown that it contains a broad
spectrum of chemical components, which include proteins, carbohydrates,
minerals, flavonoids, essential oils, lipids, carotenoids, and terpenoids. The
many health advantages associated with cardamom capsules have contributed
to their widespread use in the culinary industry as both an addition and
a spice. Another popular use for the capsules is in the creation of fragrances.
The essential oils perform a number of important biological roles, including
those of a gastroprotective, an antidiabetic, an antioxidant, an anticancer,
an antibacterial, and an insecticidal. This chapter investigates the potential pharmacological effects of cardamom extracts and essential oils, as well as
their traditional applications.
... Shading is essential for the normal growth of cardamom, and differences in shading have a substantial impact on photosynthetic activity, chlorophyll content, chlorophyll fluorescence, and biochemical characteristics (Alagupalamuthirsolai et al., 2018). Root grub infestation is most common in cardamom in exposed, warm, and less shaded situations, and an appropriate shade (65-70%) is required in root grub endemic cardamom locations (Prabhakaran Nair, 2006;Murugan et al., 2016). Some shade trees, however, provide food for B. fulvicornis beetles. ...
... The endemicity Fig. 1 Cardamom cultivation in the CHR system is highly intensive and costly, and pesticides are an inevitable input in an intensive agriculture system (Shetty et al., 2008;Murugan et al., 2017). Some cultural, mechanical, physical and bio-control methods were also evaluated and developed against B. fulvicornis, taking into account the damage In a column means followed by different letters are significantly different otherwise non significant; Values in parentheses are arc sine transformed values 191 potential of this pest and the sensitive nature of the CHR system (Josephrajkumar et al., 2005;Prabhakaran Nair, 2006;Murugan et al., 2006Murugan et al., , 2016Naseema Beevi et al., 2014;Rashid et al., 2016). A clear understanding of the bio-ecology, including the feeding habitats of different life stages of a pest, will help to formulate better eco-friendly pest management strategies in such a complex but unique system as the CHR. ...
Host range and feeding behavior of Basilepta fulvicornis (Jacoby) adult beetles were studied on different plant species (25 species from 18 genera and 13 families) in the Cardamom Hill Reserves, Kerala, India. Five new host plants of B. fulvicornis adult beetles, viz., Artocarpus hirsutus Lam., Ficus auriculata Lour., Anacardium occidentale L., Spondias mangifera Willd., and Terminalia chebula Retz., are reported for the first time. Non-preference and non-feeding of B. fulvicornis adults on the larval host, Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton was confirmed. Based on the feeding area, A. hirstus, F. auriculata, Mangifera indica and Artocarpus heterophyllus are the most preferred host species followed by Terminalia catappa, A. occidentale, S. mangifera, and T. chebula. Feeding preference and survival of adult beetles of B. fulvicornis on different tree species are indicated with a probable eco-friendly pest management solution.
... El cardamomo (Elettaria cardamomum), conocido también como la "Reina de las especias" por su agradable sabor y aroma, es el segundo cultivo de especias más importante del mundo, después de la pimienta negra (Nair, 2006). Como especia, el cardamomo se utiliza completo (con vaina), en semillas o en polvo. ...
... A pesar de que el cardamomo tiene una gran importancia a nivel económico, en el área de las especias (Nair, 2006), es un fruto poco estudiado, evidenciado en los 1270 documentos arrojados en SCOPUS con el término en inglés "cardamom", reduciéndose a 242 documentos al aplicar la ecuación de búsqueda. ...
El cardamomo es la segunda especie de mayor importancia a nivel mundial, luego de la pimienta negra. Es cotizado en el mercado internacional tres veces mayor que el café, por lo que se convierte en una alternativa económica interesante para productores agroindustriales en Colombia. En la presente investigación, se realizó un análisis bibliométrico con el fin de identificar la tendencia en investigación en los últimos 20 años, para evidenciar el potencial de investigación futura de la cadena de valor del cardamomo, orientado al mejoramiento de la calidad del producto, tecnología, incremento del valor comercial y nuevos mercados. Se encontraron 242 documentos a partir de las palabras clave y parámetros estudiados, en el cual se evidenció un crecimiento moderado en el número de documentos publicados por año, para el cual el país India tuvo más del 54% de la participación en las publicaciones, y el medio más utilizado de divulgación fue por artículos científicos, con un 79%. No se identificó un referente en el tema, sin embargo, la mayor tendencia en investigación se presentó en el área de Agricultura y Ciencias Biológicas.
... Western Ghats of South India is the center of origin for cardamom, and it is commonly grown in the hilly areas of the country at heights ranging from 800-1300 meters above sea level. The plant is cultivated as an under crop, beneath forest trees, as it grows best in the shade and cool climate, at higher elevations (Nair, 2006;Kuriakose et al., 2009). The crop is cultivated in different parts of the world, including Cambodia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Vietnam (Reyes et al., 2006). ...
... It is widely cultivated in the hilly regions of the Western Ghats of the southern India provinces, including Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. Also, it is one of the major exported spices of India and Guatemala is the main competitor to Indian cardamom in the global market (Nair, 2006). India has a good research base among the various cardamom-growing countries and different research institutes including, Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR), Cardamom Research Centre (CRC), Indian Cardamom Research Institute (ICRI), Cardamom Research Station (CRS), Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), Kerala, India, are actively working on various cardamom improvement programs with the objectives that are detailed in Figure 1. ...
... Western Ghats of South India is the center of origin for cardamom, and it is commonly grown in the hilly areas of the country at heights ranging from 800-1300 meters above sea level. The plant is cultivated as an under crop, beneath forest trees, as it grows best in the shade and cool climate, at higher elevations (Nair, 2006;Kuriakose et al., 2009). The crop is cultivated in different parts of the world, including Cambodia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Vietnam (Reyes et al., 2006). ...
... It is widely cultivated in the hilly regions of the Western Ghats of the southern India provinces, including Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. Also, it is one of the major exported spices of India and Guatemala is the main competitor to Indian cardamom in the global market (Nair, 2006). India has a good research base among the various cardamom-growing countries and different research institutes including, Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR), Cardamom Research Centre (CRC), Indian Cardamom Research Institute (ICRI), Cardamom Research Station (CRS), Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), Kerala, India, are actively working on various cardamom improvement programs with the objectives that are detailed in Figure 1. ...
Cardamom, known as Queen of Spices, is one of the major spice crops
from India. It is a tall herbaceous member of the Zingiberaceae family
adapted to the hill regions of the Western Ghats of South India. Cardamom
is one of the commercially prominent spices exported from India and
Guatemala is the main competitor to Indian cardamom in the global
market. Crop improvement programs in cardamom are considered complex and time-consuming due to crop prolonged pre-bearing age. In the past few
decades, advances in biotechnology have significantly impacted crop
improvement programs in different spice crops, including cardamom. It
offers new and exciting opportunities to solve crop-specific problems.
Recently, many researchers have used various biotechnological
approaches to conduct studies on micropropagation, assess the diversity in
germplasm collections, and elucidate the biotic and abiotic stress tolerance
mechanisms in cardamom. This chapter details the impact of
biotechnological approaches in cardamom genetic improvement and offers
our views on the future research direction.
... The crushed cardamom capsules are boiled with tea and water in south India to add a good fragrance to tea, which is popularly known as "Elakkai tea" and has been used to alleviate tiredness and depression (Ashokkumar et al., 2020a). Some people believe that excessive cardamom capsules' excessive use could cause impotence in humans (Nair, 2011). However, to date, there is no scientific evidence reported that the daily consumption limit of cardamom. ...
... However, to date, there is no scientific evidence reported that the daily consumption limit of cardamom. The cardamom preparation, "Eladigana chooranm" is commonly used to cure arthritis, congestion, and itching in south Indian Ayurvedic medicine (Nair, 2011). Cardamom capsule extracts and cardamom essential oil (CEO) have numerous potential therapeutic activities. ...
The essential oil of cardamom capsules is a high-value ingredient in foods, beverages, perfumery, and traditional medicines. It is responsible for the characteristic aroma of cardamom. The present study aimed to evaluate essential oil yield and chemical constituents of 22 diverse accessions of cardamom. A total of 20 g of the cured capsules were hydrodistilled in a Clevenger apparatus for 3 h in three replications. The amount of essential oil yield ranged from 4.5 to 9.5%, indicating a substantial variation in this feature among the accessions. The GC/MS analysis results discovered 24 constituents that constituted 98.1–100% of total essential oil. The main fractions were found to be oxygenated monoterpenes (40.7–66.7%), monoterpene hydrocarbons (23.1–58.6%), and sesquiterpenes (0.1–2.0%). Among the monoterpenoids, the predominant constituents were α-terpinyl acetate (29.9–61.3%) followed by 1,8-cineole (15.2–49.4%), α-terpineol (0.83–13.2%), β-linalool (0.44–11.0%), and sabinene (1.9–4.9%). Two sesquiterpene constituents, cardinen and nerolidol and p-cresol (a phenol derivative) were also identified. The compositional data were subjected to euclidean-distance-based similarity analysis, which showed two major clusters. The major constituents of cardamom essential oil (CEO) are 1,8-cineole, α-terpinyl acetate, sabinene, and β-linalool that can be used in food, aroma, and pharmaceutical applications.
... It also shows promising activity towards the enhancement of neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin and also has a positive effect on enhancing memory and other behavioral attitudes [20] . It is a natural memory booster in scopolamine-induced amnesia, has anxiolytic and muscle-relaxing effects [21,22] . These beneficial effects of cardamom are mainly due to its strong antioxidant property and it phytoconstituents. ...
... Anti-convulsant, anxiolytic, muscle-relaxant, and effective in Alzheimer's disease, also natural memory booster in scopolamine-induced amnesia. [18][19][20][21][22] Coriandrum sativum L. (Umbelliferae) Coriander ...
Ayurveda the Indian traditional medicinal system evidences that the utilization of spices provides better human health and cures various diseases. Some of the scientific reports also have been proven the beneficial effects of spices in humans. Many Indian spices primarily used for the culinary purpose and have been found to have reported specific activity against CNS disorders. This review focuses on the Indian spices black cumin, cardamom, coriander, fennel, garlic, saffron, and turmeric therapeutic applications and it's till date scientific findings in CNS disorders. The review findings of this study suggest that these Indian spices possess therapeutic potential in disorders associated with neuroinflammation, neurotransmitter deficiency, and depression. It might be due to their phytoconstituents and potent antioxidant properties.
... In traditional medicine, consumption of cardamom daily with a tablespoon of honey improves the eyesight (Singh and Singh, 1996). However, some people believe that excessive uses of cardamom capsules could cause impotency in humans (Nair, 2011). ...
... Intake of cardamom increases urine production. A mixture of medicines known as Ariyau kashayam (six grains including cardamom) is used for curing skin diseases in children (Nair, 2011). Huang et al. (1999) examined the effect of cardamom extract on the transdermal-dermal delivery of indometacin and observed that cardamom oil has enhanced the permeation of indometacin significantly in in vitro (rabbit, rat and human) and in vivo (rabbit) situations. ...
... Shade trees in cardamom fields check the surface evaporation of soil moisture, intense rainfall and surface wind, soil erosion, weed growth and some pest and disease incidence. They also play a considerable role in the CHR agro ecosystem by enhancing the soil physical properties as well as activities of pollinating agents (Prabhakaran Nair, 2006). A mixed population of shade trees that facilitate shade at more or less optimum level throughout the year is desirable for the crop (Pradip Kumar et al., 2015). ...
Cardamom Hill Reserves (CHR), Kerala, is located mostly in the high range altitude of the southern Western Ghats. The main distribution habitats of small cardamom in the Western Ghats are the shaded environment. Shade trees play a considerable role in the CHR agro ecosystem by reducing the intensity of sunlight, rain and wind speed and also enhancing the soil physical properties as well as activities of pollinating agents. A mixed population of trees that facilitate shade at more or less optimum level all through the year is desirable for the crop. Earlier studies have indicated that 56% of evergreen trees in the Western Ghats are endemic, and the southern Western Ghats have the highest species richness and species endemism. Selective tree felling in cardamom hills goes faster than other places in southern India. Now, the complex tropical forest has been converted in to a more open, simple and uniform system thereby leading to degradation of cardamom agroforestry system in India. Invasive species viz. Grevillea robusta, Erythrina subumbrans and Spathodea companulata are common features in the CHR area. In this study, we recorded the abundance of the above three invasive species and already reported dominant species in seven major cardamom growing hot spot areas under the CHR system. From each hot spot area, three plots were selected, and from each plot 50 shade trees were marked and recorded the observations. Totally 21 plots were sampled. Among the invasive species, occurrence of G. robusta is 11.81 per cent followed by E. subumbrans (8.10 %) and S. companulata (2.38 %). Over the years, the shade tree species composition has been changed drastically and in this study we noted that three major species viz. Artocarpus heterophyllus, Vernonia arborea and Grevillea robusta together contribute 50.58 per cent of the total enumerated trees. Loss of natural forest canopy has severely affected the microclimate of this area, and consequently this system cannot perform its actual ecosystem service and functions. Deliberate efforts have to be made to provide sufficient shade tree diversity and endemism in cardamom plantations to overcome the direct and indirect adverse effects on the long term stability of the CHR system.
... On the other hand, organic wheat and cardamom had shown a high instability index in the export with index of 40.02 and 34.82, respectively, as the export of both wheat and cardamom had drastically increased from 2020 and 2021. However, Nair (2006) has reported that the instability in export quantity has declined significantly. Considering the trade potential and demand for cardamom, the crop is expected to retain commercial significance in the coming years. ...
... On the other hand, organic wheat and cardamom had shown a high instability index in the export with index of 40.02 and 34.82, respectively, as the export of both wheat and cardamom had drastically increased from 2020 and 2021. However, Nair (2006) has reported that the instability in export quantity has declined significantly. Considering the trade potential and demand for cardamom, the crop is expected to retain commercial significance in the coming years. ...
This paper estimates the competitiveness of India’s organic food export in the world markets. Using Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), instability index, trend analysis, Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and forecasting methods, the study has revealed growth in the export of organic wheat, cardamom and Naga king chilli to be positive with an increasing trend, whereas export of organic basmati rice was very low and has shown a declining trend maybe due to the substandard quality of the commodity. Accordingly, the instability in export of organic wheat and organic cardamom has been found to be high
due to a rise in their demand in the overseas markets. The study has revealed comparative advantage (RCA) in Naga king chilli export from India with a value of less than unity, which indicated that the share of the Naga king chilli export in the total country’s export was negligible. The study suggests that the Export Inspection Council (EIC) of India should strictly monitor the quality testing of the product before it is exported in the global markets so that the price of the product in the international markets becomes highly competitive.
... Shade lopping and selective tree felling lead to significant variations in cardamom microclimatic conditions, which often increase pests, especially whiteflies, thrips and soil root grubs 8 . Root grub infestation is mainly seen in exposed, warm and less shaded conditions 38 . An adequate 65-70% shade is recommended for root grub endemic cardamom areas 25 . ...
Small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton; Zingiberaceae) is one of India's most export oriented spices. Insect pests and diseases are major threats to the sustainable cultivation of cardamom in India, and this crop alone consumes 26.21 kg a.i. ha-1 of pesticides per year. Shoot and capsule borers, thrips and root grubs are the major insect pests, and capsule rot, clump rot and leaf blight are the major diseases demanding more pesticides in the cardamom production system. The frequency of pesticide application in the system is nearly three times more than the recommended frequency. Various management strategies are advocated to reduce the load of pesticides and their residues. By considering the unique nature of the agroforestry system, varietal replacement, shade and nutrient management, exploitation of bioagents, organic initiatives, cultural and mechanical methods, biotechnological approaches, judicious application of synthetic chemicals and use of less toxic pesticides are the available employable strategies to minimize the pesticide load in the production system. Proper integration and adoption of these strategies by farmers are imperative.
... The cardamom plant can reach heights of up to 3 meters, and its flowering and fruit setting usually commence 2 or 3 years after planting. The light green or yellow fruits, containing 15 to 20 small seeds, are responsible for the desirable flavor and fragrance associated with cardamom [4]. ...
An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of seed priming on the germination and seedling growth of cardamom. The experiment consisted of two factors, namely; five priming solutions (distilled water, KNO3 (0.2%), GA3 (200 ppm), cow urine (10%), and tap water), and two soaking durations (6 hrs. and 9 hrs.). The factorial combination of these factors was arranged in a randomized complete block design and replicated four times. Different parameters were measured, including seed germination percentage, germination index, shoot and root length, fresh and dry weight of shoots and roots, as well as root volume. Notably, the main effect of the priming solution had a significant (P<0.05) effect on the aforesaid germination and seedling growth attributes. However, the main effect of soaking duration and their interaction with priming solutions did not exhibit a significant effect (P>0.05). Among the priming solutions, the application of cow urine at a 10% concentration exhibited a significant effect on the seed germination and subsequent growth of the cardamom seedlings. Advantageous results of seedling vigor indexes I and II were observed from cardamom seeds primed with the same solution. Accordingly, the growers and seedling producers in the study area are advised to apply a 10% cow urine priming solution before sowing cardamom seeds for enhanced germination and seedling growth.
... A spice is any part of a plant that is mainly used to flavor or color food, including seeds, fruits, roots, bark, and other plant materials. Cardamom is called the "Queen of spices" (Nair, 2006), and is a major spices crop worldwide, under the Zingiberaceae family. This royal spice is recognized by its two main forms in the world. ...
Cardamom, both small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) and large cardamom (Amomum subulatum) known as the "Queen of spices", is widely utilized for a variety of applications worldwide and has the potential to be an understory high-value crop for the Bangladesh. A first exploratory survey in nine districts of Bangladesh was carried out to identify cardamom farming systems, prospects and constraints in the existing environment. Data were gathered through key informant interviews during February 2020 to January 2021 using questionnaire. About 4,600 small and 980 large cardamom plants have been growing successfully under agroforestry system in Bangladesh for last few years. Azadirecta indica, Artocarpus heterophyllus and Albizia lebbeck were reported as shade tree for maintaining 60-70% shade for quality production. Time of flowering and fruiting were reported February to March and April to mid-June, respectively. Yield of cardamom was reported about 0.4 to 0.5 kg plant-1. Estimated benefit cost ratio (BCR) was 4.14. Lack of proper information (97%) and quality planting materials (90%) marked as major problems faced by the farmers. Knowledge of cardamon cultivation (0.74) and annual income from cardamon farm (0.94) were showed a significant relationship with number of plants. Enhancing cardamom production on underutilized land could help marginalized people, especially women's empowerment through income generation, as well as provide various ecosystem services that are closely related to SDGs 1, 2 and 13.
... It is native to the Western Ghats in southwestern India however, cultivation of cardamom is now rapidly taking place in several countries in Central America with similar weather patterns and growing conditions, including in Mexico, resulting in changes in the pollinator communities from its native range. Cardamom was introduced in Guatemala in the 1930s and Guatemala is now the leading producer and exporter of cardamom (Nair, 2006). Thus, it is important to study the interactions of cardamom with a novel pollinator community in its introduced range. ...
We are now living in the Anthropocene, a new epoch characterized by unprecedented levels of anthropogenic impact on earth systems. This epoch has seen a dramatic decline in biodiversity and, consequently, poses a great challenge to humanity, as we encounter diminished provisioning of ecosystem services, vital for our survival. My dissertation examines the ecological impact of land-use change, driven by agriculture and urbanization on the provisioning of ecosystem services, mainly pollination, and the pollinators that provide this ecosystem service. I investigate these questions at the level of the landscape within both the agricultural and urban matrix, and at the level of the farm scale in the agricultural matrix. In chapter 2, I evaluate the suitability of three habitats (organic shaded coffee farm, sun coffee farm, forest fragment) in supporting populations of Scaptotrigona mexicana, a stingless bee species that is native to Mexico and of great cultural significance. I find that stingless bee colony growth, survival and pollen-diet richness are comparable in the shaded coffee farm and the forest fragment. In contrast, I find that the sun coffee farm is inhospitable for stingless bee colonies likely due to use of agrochemicals and low floral resources. In chapters 3-4, I investigate the effects of nitrogen-fixing shade tree management on the interactions of two ecosystem services – pest control and pollination – in an organic shaded coffee farm in Mexico. I examine the effects of pollinators and ants as agents of pollination and pest control on Coffea arabica. I find that there is no trade-off between pest control and pollination services despite the deterrence of pollinators by the dominant and aggressive ant species, Azteca sericeasur, which also controls the coffee berry borer, a major pest of Coffea arabica. I find additive effects of pest-control and pollination on early fruit set and fruit weight, and that nitrogen-fixing shade trees only has indirect effects on pest-control via the reduction of Azteca ant activity on the coffee bushes. In chapter 5, I study the pollination ecology of green cardamom, Elleteria cardamomum. I examine the relative contributions of common pollinator species visiting cardamom using single-visit pollen deposition and fruit set in an organic shaded coffee plantation. I find that cardamom has both legitimate visitors and nectar-robbers. However, the nectar-robbers also collect pollen from the flowers, thereby pollinating the plant despite robbing its nectar. The most effective pollinator of E. cardamomum in its introduced range is a native stingless nectar-robbing bee species, Scaptotrigona mexicana, highlighting the need to examine the activity of visitors that on the face of it appear to only “rob” plants but may turn out to be the most effective pollinators. I discuss the implications of this finding by laying out conditions under which cardamom may adapt to its most effective pollinator, if at all. In chapter 6, I investigate the influence of roads on pollinator movement and pollination by examining patterns of pigment transfer. I find that plants across a road from a pigment-added plant receive significantly less pigment than plants on the same side of the road and this effect is mediated by the size of the pollinators. I show that roads pose substantial barriers to bee movement, reducing pollen flow between plants located across roadways from one another. Finally in chapter 7, I discuss the implications of my studies and future directions.
... As per the reports, elemene (0.14%), nerolidol (1.5%), and1,8-cineole (34.91%) (Murugan et al., 2002;Kumar et al., 2005;Georgiev and Stoyanova, 2006;Murugan et al., 2019;Ashokkumar et al., 2020a). Nair (2006) reported that the volatile oil of E. cardamomum contains 52-58% of oleoresin and is used as a flavouring agent. Kaskoos et al. (2006) detected three constituents from the PV 1 variety and the other two varieties detected only two ester constituents except for the E5-Dodecenylacetate. ...
Cardamom is one of the most expensive species in the world which belongs to the family Zingiberaceae and it's used as traditional medicine. Cardamom is cultivated in India, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Guatemala. It's available in two types; black cardamom (Amomum subulatum) and green cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum). In folk medicine, different parts of E. cardamomum is used in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, stomachic, retentive, digestive, antiemetic, carminative and anti-putrefactive (during embalmment) agents, and also in treating gums, teeth and throat infection, lung congestion, pulmonary tuberculosis, high blood pressure, heart disease and digestive disorders. Cardamom oil is used as a spice in food and as liquors/flavours in pharmaceutical industries. In medicine, its oil is used as a powerful antiseptic, stomachic, aromatic and diuretic agent. The capsules have been used traditionally for teeth, gum infections, asthma and preparations of digestive ailments. In this chapter, we have consolidated the phytochemical and pharmacological properties of cardamom and their medicinal uses and the antioxidant activities present in cardamom along with its popular and traditional uses.
... It is one of the major commercial crops of the Himalayan regions (Pradhan et al., 2014). The dried fruits of A. subulatum are conventionally used as a spice in food and traditional medicines for treating various disorders in South-Asian countries (Nair, 2011;Peter and Shylaja, 2012). The fruits of A. subulatum are components of a formulation used by the Garo tribe to treat cancer (Ahmed et al., 2017). ...
Ethnopharmacological relevance
The dried fruits of Amomum subulatum Roxb. (A. subulatum) are widely used as a spice. It is a part of official ayurvedic formulations and it is used in folklore medicine to treat cancer. A. subulatum has been used in ayurvedic formulations to treat various lung conditions such as cough, lung
congestion, pulmonary tuberculosis. The present traditional knowledge highlights the effectiveness of A. subulatum in treating cancer and its lung-specific efficacy.
Aim of the study
This study aims to investigate the cytotoxic potential of A. subulatum on the phenomenal and mechanistic level of lung cancer cells and identify the presence of A. subulatum actives.
Materials and methods
The bioactivity of the extracts was tested using MTT assay, apoptotic assay, cell cycle analysis, superoxide production assay, reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay, and western blot analysis.Firstly, five different extracts were prepared using sequential extraction, and screening of cell lines was performed using MTT assay.
Results
Lung cancer cells were selected as the most sensitive target, and dichloromethane extract (DE) was the most active extract. Annexin assay confirmed the mode of cell death as apoptosis. Sub-G1peak found in cell cycle analysis substantiated this finding. ROS generation and superoxide showed association with apoptotic death. The upregulation and overexpression of cleaved poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1(PARP-1) showed the failure of DNA repairing machinery contributing to apoptosis. LC-MS findings show the presence of cytotoxic actives cardamonin and alpinetin.
Conclusions
In summary, this study shows the apoptosis-inducing potential of A. subulatum fruit extracts and confirms DNA damage as one of the causes of cell death. Further explorations using bio-fractionation and in-vivo studies are required to determine the most active constituents in A. subulatum.
... Cardamom is the "Queen of spices" cultivating in India, which attracts a huge foreign exchange into the country (Joseph et al., 2020;Nair, 2011). India is one of the world's leading cardamom producer and exports 500-800 Metric tons (17.5% of world export) of green cardamom to various countries every year. ...
In India, Kerala state is considered as the “land of spices” and providing good quality spices to the world especially cardamom, ginger, clove, cinnamon, turmeric, nutmeg, vanilla, tamarind and pepper. To maintain consistency in better crops yield, planters are constantly using pesticides. Most of the time, over-usage causes environmental degradation in terms of water and soil pollution. Highlands of Southern Western Ghats, especially in the Idukki district of Kerala, is famous for cardamom plantations. The widespread use of pesticides in plantations creates irreparable environmental concern due to pesticide residues in water and sediment. Abandoned pesticides are available in the local market with special brand names, and have been regularly used. At the same time organics such as acephate, fenvalerate, methamidophos, atrazine, chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin and ethion with comparable activity have been widely used in the areas of cardamom plantations as pesticides. A systematic field-survey conducted in cardamom plantations during the summer and monsoon seasons in 2020 (before and after the critical COVID-19 pandemic period). The sampling carried out from small streams near the plantations, which finally flows into the Periyar River. The samples collected from each location are carefully preserved and analysed using GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS facilities using corresponding pesticide standards. The study identified the presence of acephate and fenvalerate in almost half of the sampling stations, while ethion is absent in all the samples. The rest of the hydrochemical parameters also determined. The potability and irrigational suitability of water-resources evaluated. The study also pointed out that the presence of pesticides is not having much influence on the hydrochemical prospects of water resources. Further studies required to get more information about the status and dynamics of pesticide contamination in other areas of the basin. Such studies are inevitable in mitigating pesticide pollution in a view of sustainable ecosystem management.
... It is abundantly grown in the hilly regions of southern India's Western Ghats states, such as Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. It is also one of India's most important exporting spices, and Guatemalan cardamom is India's top global competitor (Nair, 2006). The dried, matured fruits (capsules) of cardamom are known as the "Queen of Spices" because of their delicate aroma, pleasant flavour and pleasant taste. ...
Cardamom is an herbaceous rhizomatous monocot, belonging to the family of Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial herb with underground rhizomes, with aerial pseudostems made of leaf sheaths. It is highly cross-pollinated crop and depends on honeybees for pollination. Like other crops cardamom possesses very high moisture content (>80%) in the fresh harvested produces. Moisture content should be reduced to 10 to 12 percent through a succession of post-harvest treatments without sacrificing qualitative characteristics. Cardamom quality can be accomplished by timely harvest and post-harvest activities; nevertheless, ultimate quality should be prioritized because consumers are particularly concerned about products. Harvesting cardamom at the correct maturity level without causing physical harm, followed by suitable processing techniques such as washing, drying, cleaning, grading and packaging, are the most important steps to take. Hence, the practice of cultivation, harvesting, after harvest techniques and value-added products of cardamom are detailed in this chapter.
... Our results were in agreement with previous findings published by Aneja and Joshi (2009) who reported that the major constituents of green cardamom include α-terpinyl acetate, 1,8-cineole, α-terpineol, and linalool at 44.3, 10.7, 9.8, and 8.6%, respectively. Likewise, Nair (2006) reported a wide range of concentrations of 1,8-cineole (27-36.1%) and α-terpinyl acetate (38.5-47.9%) ...
Foodborne pathogens, microbial recurrent infections, and antibiotic resistance have driven researchers to explore natural compounds as safe alternative antimicrobials. In this study, the chemical profile, antimicrobial, and mutagenic activities of the Elletaria cardamomum essential oil were investigated. GC-MS analysis identified the major bioactive components as α-terpinyl acetate, 1,8-cineole, linalool acetate, and sabinene, at concentrations of 34.95, 25.30, 8.13, and 5.48% respectively, of the essential oil’s content. Regarding antimicrobial activity, the minimum inhibitory concentration of green cardamom essential oil was 1% against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 14213. Green cardamom essential oil, when used at concentrations of 0.015, 0.031, 0.062, and 0.125% (v/v) prevented biofilm formation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 by 64.29, 65.98, 70.41, and 85.59%, respectively. Furthermore, these concentrations inhibited 6.13, 45.50, 49.45, and 100%, respectively, of the Salmonella Typhimurium JSG 1748 biofilm. A mutagenicity assay confirmed that green cardamom essential oil has no demonstrable mutagenic activity against the tested strains. The study’s findings suggest that green cardamom derived bioactive compounds are safe organic antimicrobials, effective in controlling biofilm formation by Gram-negative pathogens. Moreover, such compounds could possibly be used in the food industry (e.g., bakery, dairy, meat, and other food products) as a safe alternative to chemical preservatives (antimicrobials) to enhance shelf life by improving the antimicrobial status while at the same time imparting a pleasant and appealing aroma for consumers.
... Spices have an extensive natural microbial flora including mesophilic, soil-borne, and spore-forming bacteria, yeasts and molds (Tainter et al., 2001). Cardamom is a high-value commercial spice extensively used in the world (Nair, 2006). Cardamom, known as the queen of spices, is one of the most expensive spices in the world (Parthasarathy & Prasath, 2012). ...
In this study, the effect of infrared (IR) on decontamination of Bacillus cereus in cardamom seeds were determined at difference IR radiation powers (100, 200, and 300 W), different sample distances from radiation source (5, 10 and 15 cm) and various holding times. The most successful reduction in B. cereus numbers (5.11 log CFU/g) was achieved after a holding time of 8 min at 300 W IR power and 15 cm distance. Data were analyzed to predict antibacterial effects of IR against B. cereus in cardamom by artificial neural network (ANN) model. The developed genetic algorithm-ANN (GA-ANN), which included 12 hidden neurons, could predict B. cereus population with R 2 = 0.908. The results indicated that GA-ANN model could give good prediction for the population of B. cereus. Sensitivity analysis results showed that IR irradiation time was the most sensitive factor for the prediction of B. cereus population.
... In Thailand, patients often seek traditional remedies for common symptoms and hold beliefs related to wind and fire elements in their body. One commonly used remedy for dyspepsia is cardamom 5 . ...
... Elettaria cardamomun is the scientific name of Cardamom. The word Elettari came from the Tamil language (one of the popular South Indian languages), and is the origin of the term Elettaria, which refers to the cardamom seeds (Nair 2011). This plant has been known for 3000 years BC and is tall and a perennial herbaceous rhizomatous monocot that belongs to the Zingiberaceae family (Abu-Taweel 2018, Nair 2011). ...
Essential oils are bioactive compounds obtained from plants and algae. Marine algae has been increasingly used to provide essential oils in different medicinal and food applications. While there are several methods used in essential oil extraction, some new methods are categorized as sustainable and eco-friendly: the supercritical fluids for extraction with CO2 (SFE), extraction with pressurized liquids (PLE), and microwave assisted extraction (MAE). Commercial applications of essential oils obtained from microalgae is evidence of a new and affordable revolution in biotechnology. These new products can help find solutions for treatments of diseases and poor nutrition.
... This was also true in this study since both steady as well as unsteady states of extraction were present. The cells of essential oil (containing 1,8-cineole) are known to be located in oil cells, glandular trichomes, and in glandular epidermis of SCs (Madhusoodanan et al., 2002;Nair, 2011). These cells rupture under sc-CO 2 temperaturepressure regimes releasing 1,8-cineole to the surfaces of the ground particles which possibly form a film. ...
Optimization of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction parameters was carried out employing a full factorial design of experiments and response surface methodology, to obtain an extract possessing the best combination of 1,8-cineole content (32.18 mg/g dry seeds) and therapeutic properties (antioxidant, antidiabetic and hypocholesterolemic). A batch size of 25 g of small cardamom seeds when extracted at 200 bar, 50°C for 90 min at a flow rate of 2 L/min of gaseous CO2, provided an extract having the best combination of 1,8 cineole content along with antioxidant (IC50 values of 65±0.03 mg/ml), antidiabetic (IC50 values of 0.78±0.05 mg/ml indicating inhibitory activity on α-amylase) and hypocholesterolemic (84.52 % inhibition of micellar solubility of cholesterol) properties. A Chrastil equation was developed to validate yields 1,8-cineole in the extracts with its solubility in SC-CO2 under varying experimental conditions. This extract is a promising nutraceutical supplement and could be further used in designer foods.
Cardamom, one of the oldest spices globally, believed to be originated from India and Sri Lanka. Guatemala now stands as the largest producer of commercial cardamom. The reproductive biology of cardamom reveals its herbaceous perennial nature, propagated through seeds or rhizomes. Cultivation and breeding efforts have led to the development of distinct varieties like Malabar, Mysore, and Vazhukka, each suited to different altitudes and environmental conditions. Genetic diversity plays a crucial role in cardamom’s agronomic properties, with ongoing breeding programs focused on enhancing yield, disease resistance, and other desirable traits. Looking ahead, climate change poses challenges to cardamom cultivation, emphasizing the need for research into its genetic adaptation to varying altitudes and environmental conditions. Genomic studies offer promise for developing high-yielding, stress-tolerant varieties/clones, ensuring the sustainability of cardamom farming and its continued contribution to global spice production and economic prosperity. In the days to come, utilization of Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) is vital to introducing new genetic variation to any cop species, and cardamom is exception.
This study introduces a method for evaluating the quality of large cardamom, an essential spice with high consumer demand. A Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM)-based electronic nose was developed, employing four QCM sensors fabricated with vegetable oils such as castor (QCM-CAS), sunflower (QCM-SUNF), linseed (QCM-LSEED), and olive (QCM-OLV) to form a sensor array. The electronic nose generated a dataset of sensor responses from five distinct large cardamom samples, which were analysed using K-means clustering and principal component analysis (PCA). The resulting PCA plot revealed well-defined clusters, indicating successful sample discrimination. To further validate the performance of the electronic nose, its dataset was compared with solid phase microextraction (SPME) guided gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) data, and a clear distinction between the samples was observed. Furthermore, a Linear Regression and Random Forest classifier model were utilised to classify the E-nose dataset based on the cineole content of individual samples.
Cardamom is known for its characteristic aroma, and it has several applications in many areas, including the food and pharmaceutical industry, due to its potential health benefits. Although the seeds contain low amounts of oil, the composition of the fixed oil has great importance regarding the presence of varying compounds, including tocopherols, monounsaturated fatty acids, phenolics, carotenoids, and sterols. The most abundant fatty acids of the cardamom fixed oil are oleic, palmitic, and linoleic acids. Furthermore, α-tocopherol constitutes the main fraction of tocols in cardamom fixed oil, followed by γ- and δ-tocopherols, and the major sterol fractions of the oil are β-sitosterol followed by sitostanol. In addition to these components, phenolics and carotenoids contribute to cardamom fixed oil’s functional properties, including antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Although cardamom is better known for its essential oil composition, the fixed oil of the seeds also carries these potential health-promoting attributes due to the aforementioned composition, which makes the plant more important and valuable. This chapter reviews the composition and functional properties of cardamom fixed oil to create an enhanced overview of the fixed oil of this lesser-known spice.KeywordsVegetable oillipid classesfatty acidstocopherolsphytosterolsstabilityfunctional properties
Traditional medicine extensively uses medicinal plants, spices, herbs, and plant-based natural products to prevent disease. Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) is highly prized for its herbal, nutritional, medical and nutraceutical applications. Agronomic, genetic, and climatic factors all impact the growth and yield of cardamom. Cardamom contains a variety of bioactive phytoconstituents that have health benefits, including phenolics, fatty acids, vitamins, tocols, and sterols. The biological traits of cardamom, such as its analgesic, anticancer, and antidiabetic effects, are due to these bioactive phytoconstituents. Traditional medical uses for cardamom fruits or capsules include treating cataracts, cardiac, digestive, and kidney diseases as well as asthma, tooth and gum infections, diarrhea, and nausea. Cardamom showed antibacterial, antioxidant, antidiabetic, anticancer, gastro-protective, and insecticidal properties in both its crude oil and extracts. The cardamom cultivation, botanical and ethnobotanical characteristics, medicinal applications, chemical composition, food and non-food usage, and pharmacological effects are covered in this book. Organized into three sections, Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum): Production, Processing, and Properties addresses (1) cardamom: cultivation, species, and cultivars, (2) cardamom: chemistry, functionality and health-promoting properties, and (3) cardamom: technology, processing, and applications.KeywordsNutritionSDGsPhytotherapySpicesFunctional foodTherapeutic traitsEthnopharmacologyTraditional medicine
Nature offers us spices, which are a significant part of healthy and nutritious foods. The presence of abundant bioactive compounds in these spices makes them interesting from a scientific and health perspective. Extracts obtained from spice materials possess many health benefits and are rich sources of antioxidants, which suppress reactive oxygen species.
Spice Bioactive Compounds: Properties, Applications, and Health Benefits collects such information together in one book, presenting all necessary features related to spices and their properties. Exploring the most recent research related to the extraction, isolation, encapsulation, identification, and characterization of bioactive compounds present in spices, this book also covers the health element of spices and its utilization as a treatment for various disorders.
Key Features:
Discusses about 14 different spices and their salient features
Presents the novel technologies used in the extraction, isolation, and identification of bioactive compounds from spices
Explores the utilization of spices for culinary use in food
Industries such as the food and pharmaceutical industries have great interest in the use of bioactive compounds for the production of drugs and functional foods. Written by experts in their field, this book will be useful to anyone in either industry, as well as those who have an interest in the use of such bioactive compounds for the production of drugs and functional foods.
Oleoresin is a mixture of volatile and nonvolatile components available in whole extract of natural herb or spice. It principally comprises essential oils and resin. Lemongrass oleoresins come from the Cymbopogon species, which grow in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Oleoresin of lemongrass is a dark green-colored viscous liquid having a characteristic lemon aroma and flavor and is mostly used as a flavoring ingredient. The lemon prefix in the lemongrass specifies the characteristic lemon-like odor, which is due to the availability of citral content (mixture of two isomeric aldehydes, geranial and neral). It has been utilized in synthesizing flavors, perfumes, cosmetics, detergents, and in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Different methods are used to extract the lemongrass essential oil, but steam distillation is the most suitable method as it doesn’t alter the quality of the obtained oil. The chemical composition of lemongrass oil varies depending on its extraction methods, genetic differences, harvest period, photoperiod, plant age, farming practices, and geographical origin. Lemongrass essential oil has shown several biological activities, including antimicrobial, antifungal, antiprotozoan, antioxidant, antidiarrheal, antimutagenic, antiinflammatory, antimalarial, antinociceptive, antihepatotoxic activities, etc. Lemongrass oil is a potent food preservative because of its extraordinary antifungal and antibacterial activities.
This reference book is based on the history, cultivation, processing, breeding, protection, phytochemistry, and pharmacological importance of cardamom. Cardamom is scientifically known as Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton and is a member of the Zingiberaceae family. It's a shade-loving plant that grows well at an altitude between 600 and 1400 metres above sea level, with annual rainfall ranging from 1300–4000 mm and temperatures ranging from 10 to 35°C. Cardamom is highly cross-pollinated and depends on honeybees for pollination. Cardamom is classified into three types based on the nature of the panicles, namely, Malabar (prostrate panicle), Mysore (erect panicle) and Vazhukka (semi-erect panicle), a natural hybrid between Mysore and Malabar varieties. In India, currently, six research institutions, namely, Cardamom Research Station (CRS), Pampadumpara (Kerala Agricultural University, Kerala), ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR), Kozhikode, Kerala; Cardamom Research Centre, Appangala, Karnataka; Indian Cardamom Research Institute (ICRI), Myladumpara, Kerala and its Regional Research Station, Sakleshpur, Karnataka and Regional Research Station, Mudigere (University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences) are engaged in research for the improvement of cardamom farming. These research institutions have begun doing routine surveys to exploit desirable genes using a variety of traditional and modern crop improvement techniques. Also, these research centres/institutes are holding enormous genetic wealth of different accessions. Recently, many researchers have used various biotechnological approaches to conduct studies on micropropagation, assess the diversity in germplasm collections, and elucidate the biotic and abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms in cardamom.
Fungal, bacterial and viral diseases pose severe threats to the successful cultivation of this crop. Major pests of cardamom include thrips, shoot and capsule borer, root grub, and whiteflies. Injudicious pesticide applications to manage pests and diseases rises the residue levels in the cured product, limiting its export value. Bio-pesticides control pest in an eco-friendly manner and are considered as the best alternatives to synthetic pesticides. It includes the effective utilization of microbials (bacteria, fungi, virus, and nematodes), macrobials (predators, parasitoids, and parasites), botanicals, organic amendments, semiochemicals, endophytes, and reduced risk pesticides in managing pest and diseases.
Cardamom is grown in the throughout tropical mountains mainly for its capsules and its essential oil. Cardamom capsules/seeds accumulate essential oil and other bioactive metabolites, which contribute to their distinctive aroma and are used in the functional food, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries. More than 100 secondary metabolites have been identified from cardamom essential oil. The essential oil of cardamom capsules possesses predominantly monoterpene constituents, such as 1,8-cineole, α-pinene, α-terpineol, linalool, linalyl acetate and nerolidol and the ester constituent α-terpinyl acetate all of which have therapeutic benefits including antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antiviral and gastroprotective activities. Cardamom capsules contain substantial concentration of flavonoids like catechin, myricetin, kaempferol and quercetin. Lutein is said to be the most abundant carotenoid in small cardamom. According to recent investigations, cardamom phenolic constituents’ flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, and anthocyanins are being used to treat cardiovascular, pulmonary, kidney, and lung disorders. Cardamom capsules are a nutraceutical and functional food that can protect humans from several chronic diseases when taken daily. Cardamom oil is a new potential natural source for food, aroma, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.
Since the 4th century BC, Indian Ayurvedic physicians, as well as Greek and Roman doctors, have used small cardamom capsules to treat bronchitis, asthma, and constipation, as well as colds, coughs, diuretics, carminatives, teeth and gum infections, urinary and kidney disorders, congestion of the lungs, pulmonary tuberculosis, irritation of the eyelids, cataract, nausea, and diarrhoea. Cardamom was used to treat constipation, stomach aches, bladder infections, and dysentery in children in traditional Chinese medicine. Cardamom is also used in Ayurvedic medicine to cure food sickness. Cardamom oils are being employed in the production of plant-based hand lotions and soaps. Digestive problems can be treated with powdered cardamom capsules mixed with pulverised cloves, ginger, and caraway. In addition, using cardamom capsules helps to relieve inflammation and headaches.
This reference book entitled “Cardamom [Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton]: Production, Breeding, Management, Phytochemistry and Health Benefits” is comprises of twelve chapters contributed by different authors and provide complete information about this wonderful herb. Its occurrence, history, cultivation, post-harvest processing, botany, crop improvement, biotechnology, protection, ethnopharmacological uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological activities are well described with supporting references.
The book contains latest information pertaining to cardamom and its cultivation. The information provided in this book will be very useful for students, academicians, researchers, and scientists, as well as others interested/involved nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries.
This paper studies the identification of 1,8- cineole, an oxygenated monoterpenoid which is the most abundant volatile organic compound (VOC) present in Cardamom utilizing a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor. Cardamom, a very costly spice is known for its wide applications in medicinal as well as its aromatic fragrance
requires proper quality estimation for consumer benefit. A silica gel coated QCM sensor (SIL-QCM) has been fabricated using the nebulization coating process. Different sensor characteristics study viz. sensitivity, selectivity, reproducibility, and repeatability have been carried out with the fabricated sensor in the presence of different dominating VOCs present in Cardamom. The SIL-QCM sensor showed good sensitivity of 0.0795 Hz/ppm with the linearity of R2 = 0.9938.
The chapter discusses, at length, the origin of Oil Palm, its global spread, growing conditions, collection of oil palm germplasms, especially from the African continent. The chapter further discusses the characterization of the germplasms collected, and, their utilization. Biotechnological interventions, production of oil in oil palm fruits, and a blueprint to modify palm oil composition, tissue culture in oil palm are also discussed. The chapter concludes with a discussion on oil palm plantations and its environmental impact, and, a look into the future of oil palm cultivation.
The chapter discusses various aspects of Coffee production, the Quality parameters, Intercropping and shading in coffee, Pests and Diseases, Field management, with special emphasis on establishing and maintaining a Coffee plantation, the Global economic outlook for Coffee, Consumer choice and Coffee adaptation and a look into the future of Coffee.
India is one of the major producers and consumer of cardamom. The export performance of cardamom has witnessed several changes over the past few decades. This paper analyses the trends and performance of cardamom commodity from India. Using secondary data from the Spices Board and the Ministry of Commerce along with international trade data from the United Nations International Trade Statistics Database, the trend in the domestic production and export markets is clearly drawn out. The changes in Revealed Comparative Advantage in cardamom exports over the years is used to study the level and changes in the export competitiveness of the commodity. The study identifies a revival in export competiveness in the recent years along with an increase in the share of global cardamom exports. The highly concentrated production of cardamom, the preference for Indian cardamom in Middle East economies and the revival of export competitiveness can benefit the Indian cardamom producers. The study argues for strengthening research investments in cardamom for sustaining and enhancing the benefits from cardamom exports from the country.
Two Chinese black cardamom oils ( Amomum tsao-ko) were analyzed using GC and GC/MS and compared to 2 Indian cardamom oils from the species Amomum subulatum and Elettaria cardamomum, respectively. The main constituents of A. tsao-ko oils were eucalyptol, geranial, geraniol, trans-2,3,3A,7A-tetrahydro-1 H-indene-4-carbaldehyde, (2 E)-decenal, neral, and 4-indanecarbaldehyde. Special attention was given to the 1 H-indene-carbaldehyes, which are frequently wrongly assigned in previous literature. A detailed odor evaluation of the oils was also carried out. In addition, composition variations of 28 main constituents of 8 E. cardamomum oils were investigated, taking various factors like origin, production methods, plant material, and drying stage into consideration.
Cardamom, named the "Queen of Spices," is well-known for its distinct and sweet aroma. It is the world's oldest spice, and is the third most expensive spice following saffron and vanilla. Cultivation of cardamom is concentrated in the evergreen forests of Western Ghats in South India, but also in Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania and Guatemala. Cardamom has an important culinary value throughout the world. It is featured heavily in curries, pickles, custards and spice blends such as garam masala in India, and is also chewed as a nut and used as an aromatic and essential oil in perfumes. Moreover, it has numerous medicinal and therapeutic properties, and is prescribed as the traditional Indian medicine, Ayurveda. This chapter is focused on exposing the scientific evidence of various features of cardamom such as composition, biological activities, extraction methods, and application in commercial uses.
Small Cardamom is called the “queen of the spices” planted in the rain forests of Western Ghats Hills of India. The cardamom is used in sweet and confectionary industry as flavoringagent including traditional medicinesand naturopathy.Besides India and Sri Lanka, cardamom is also grown as a commercial crop in Guatemala and on small scale in Tanzania, Sri Lanka, El Salvador, Vietnam,In last few decadesGuatemala has replaced India as leadingexporter of small cardamom. However,the quality of Indian produce is superior and regularly exported to SaudiArabia, UAE, Kuwait, USA, Japan and Scandinavian countries.Indian planters are diversifying to organic crops and applying measures for value addition to maximizesales returns. The major issues in cardamom complex are raisingcost of production, pesticide,andinsecticide residual issues, seasonal availability, price fluctuations, robust growth in domestic demand, strongholdof intermediary in the valuechain and unethical trade practices. There is urgent need to augmentthe productivity and to introducemoderntechnique of crop management, diseases,andpest control. Spice Board and other stakeholdersshould take suitable steps to ensure remunerative prices to planters for the long-termgrowth of this plantation crop. The study has revealed thatcommercial cardamom plantation cultivation crop is increasingly gaining popularity among planters due to growth in demand in domestic vis-a-visoverseas markets. India has lost out to Guatemala in the last few years in terms of export volumes. Indian exporters should maintain quality standards as per requirement of importing nations. Exporters should promote ethical trade practices to regain confidence of overseas buyers
(1) The Enhanced Inland Food Chain and Export Disparities of Small Cardamoms in India: A Critical Review. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326956955_The_Enhanced_Inland_Food_Chain_and_Export_Disparities_of_Small_Cardamoms_in_India_A_Critical_Review [accessed Oct 21 2018].
Cambridge Core - Prehistory - Globalization in Prehistory - edited by Nicole Boivin
Small Cardamom is called the "queen of the spices" planted in the rain forests of Western Ghats Hills of India. The cardamom is used in sweet and confectionary industry as flavoring agent including traditional medicines and naturopathy. Besides India and Sri Lanka, cardamom is also grown as a commercial crop in Guatemala and on small scale in Tanzania, Sri Lanka, El Salvador, Vietnam, In last few decades Guatemala has replaced India as leading exporter of small cardamom. However, the quality of Indian produce is superior and regularly exported to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, USA, Japan and Scandinavian countries. Indian planters are diversifying to organic crops and applying measures for value addition to maximize sales returns. The major issues in cardamom complex are raising cos of production, pesticide, and insecticide residual issues, seasonal availability, price fluctuations, robust growth in domestic demand the stronghold of intermediary in the value chain and unethical trade practices. There is urgent need to augment the productivity and to introduce the modern technique of crop management, diseases, and pest control. Spice Board and other stakeholders should take suitable steps to ensure remunerative prices to planters for the long-term growth of this plantation crop. The study has revealed that commercial cardamom plantation cultivation crop is increasingly gaining popularity among planters due to growth in demand in domestic visa -vis overseas markets. India has lost out to Guatemala in the last few years in terms of export volumes. Indian exporters should maintain quality standards as per requirement of importing nations. Exporters should promote ethical trade practices to regain the confidence of overseas buyers.
Quality evaluation of traditional products II gram masala and puliyogere mix masala
This study assessed the role of two local wild bee populations (Apis mellifera mellifera L., Apidae, and the solitary bee Amegilla sapiens [Cockerell], Anthophoridae) in the pollination of cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton, Zingiberaceae) at two sites in highland Papua New Guinea in September and October 1987. Study of the foraging behaviour of both species indicated that although less abundant than A. m. mellifera, A. sapiens was far more important as a pollinator than its relatively low numbers would suggest. Measurement of flight activity over the day of both species revealed that application of pesticides to cardamom crops should be carried out as late as possible in the day to minimise damage to pollinator populations.
Cardamom flowers offer nectar in a corolla tube which is 23 (±2.08) mm long and the style passes through the corolla tube. The honey-bee pollinators, Apis cerana and A. dorsata, despite their short tongue lengths (4.5 and 5.5 mm, respectively) drew nectar up to 11.45 (±2.65) and 11.65 (±1.85) mm. In controlled experiments, using capillary tubes of similar dimensions as cardamom corolla tubes, the depth of feeding by the two species of bees corresponded to their tongue lengths when there was no style. However, when a natural or an artificial style was introduced into the capillary tube the depth of feeding increased with increase in style thickness. We show here that the presence of style inside the corolla tube helps bees to draw more nectar from cardamom flowers. We also suggest that the plant facilitates pollinators to draw more nectar than it is possible with their short tongues, by keeping the style within, and that the thickness of style may have some significance in the evolution of the system.
The microclimatic and photosynthetic characteristics of arecanut (Areca catechu) and cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) mixed cropping system were studied at Sirsi (Kamataka, India). Arecanut canopy received higher amount of light and also photosynthetically active radiation. Arecanut also recorded higher photosynthetic rc;lte, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, intercellular CO 2 concentration, carboxylation efficiency and water use efficiency at gas exchange level.
During 1937 there was a severe infestation of Taenothrips cardamomi on most of the cardamom estates in the Bodi Hills. The planters suffered a heavy loss. Some of them appealed to the Deputy Director of Agriculture, Madura for help early in 1938 In response to their request, the author was deputed to investigate this pest. This opportunity was taken to study cardamom cultivation as practised in these areas and the study continued as and when opportunities occurred. The materials gathered are summarised below. Cardamom-(Elettaria Cardamomum, Maton) is a valuable spice. The plants are found growing luxuriantly in a wild state in elevated sheltered areas, scattered in the thick humid ever green shola regions of the Western ghats, with an annual rainfall ranging from 100 to 150 inches. There are only limited areas satisfying the above conditions and these are confined to the Western ghats in parts of Mysore, Coorg, Cochin, Travancore and Madras Presidency. According to an official estimate the total area under carda- moms in South India is about 86,134 acres but there are reasons to believe that the area is at least 100,000 acres.
A method for micropropagation of large cardamom (Amomum subulatum) is reported. Rhizome buds were activated to grow in Murashige and Skoog basal medium supplemented with 3% sucrose and 0.5 mgl' kinetin. The sprouted buds were multiplied at the rate of 5-10 shoots per culture in Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 1.0 mgl ' benzylaminopurine and 0.5 mgl-' indole-3-butyric acid. The shoots rooted in the same medium. The in vitro regenerated plantlets could be established in the soil with 90 per cent success. Abbreviations BAP : 6-Benzylaminopurine IBA : Indole-3-butyric acid Mn : Kinetin MS : Murashige and Skoog medium NAA : «-Naphthaleneacetic acid Large cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb .), a tall perennial rhizomatous zingiberaceous herb is the most important cash crop of Sikkim and also parts of north eastern states and West Bengal in India. The seeds are used as a flavouring agent in many culinary preparations and also find their application in medicine and industry. This paper reports protocols for micropropagation of large cardarnom. Rhizomes were collected from potted plants, after drenching with 0.3% copper oxychloride at 3 day intervals for obtaining contamination free cultures. These rhizomes were washed throughly in running tap water and treated with 0.3% copper oxychloride and Teepol for 1 h. The rhizomes were then washed and young sprouting buds were excised along with a portion of the rhizome and treated with 0.1% mercuric chloride
Black pepper, popularly known as the “King of Spices”, has a very checkered history dating back to the times of Queen Sheeba and King Solomon (BC 1015–BC 66) and has influenced the destiny of nations and their people, spread across the world, both economically and culturally. Today pepper commands the leading position among the different spices as the spice of immense commercial importance in world trade and is finding its way into the dietary habits of millions around the world, even among people on the European and North American continents, hitherto unaccustomed to its use. Pepper use ranges from a simple dietary constituent to that of immense pharmacological benefits. Though beset with many problems, both agronomic and economic, it is a safe bet that pepper will emerge as the world's most sought after spice, its predicted global demand escalating colossally to about 280,000 metric tons by the year 2020 that will further climb to 360,000 metric tons by the year 2050. This very exhaustive review details the various constraints to enhancing productivity of pepper and charts contours of a new course of action. Among the primary constraints in pepper production is the absence of an ideotype that combines many positive traits to boost production potential, whilst at the same time resisting ravages of nature such as the onslaught of the dreaded disease “Foot Rot” caused by Phytophthora fungi, whch is the most devastating. Fertility management of pepper soils is still rooted in classical “text book” knowledge. The review also includes the relevance of a refreshing new concept, developed by the author, which is now universally known as “the nutrient buffer power concept”, in enhancing pepper productivity.
