You probably have heard of cardamom, as it is one of the renowned and versatile spices in the world today, commonly used to enhance the flavour of cuisines and delicacies, especially in Indian households.

In fact, it is so renowned in India that cardamom is often referred to as the “Queen of Spices”! It is a perennial herb that is easily identifiable by its large leaves and seeds, as well as its green and white flowers. The essential oil of cardamom is derived from two types of cardamom plants: Ellataria and Amomum.

Cardamom oil, with its clear to pale-yellowish liquid, has the contradicting fragrance of being sweet yet spicy at the same time. Yet, they have numerous medicinal properties that make this oil highly beneficial in addressing your common health ailments!

Health Benefits of Cardamom Essential Oil:

1. Potent Antispasmodic

The essential oil of cardamom is a very good antispasmodic as it is able to ease spasms, contractions and convulsions that occur especially in the muscles. This is thus able to ease any digestive problems such as stomach cramps or diarrhea, or even respiratory problems such as coughing fits or itchiness in the throat as it relaxes the muscles.

This relates to cardamom’s ability to treat asthma as well! A 2011 study that was published in the Bangladesh Journal of Pharmacology reported that cardamom extract, with its relaxant potential, is able to exhibit bronchodilatory effects, which means it can serve as a medicinal use in alleviating asthma attacks. This means it relaxes the bronchi and bronchioles, therefore decreasing pressure and resistance in the respiratory passageways to allow for increased and unobstructed airflow to the lungs.

How to Use it: You can add about 3-4 drops of cardamom essential oil into a steam inhalation, diffuser or vaporizer and let the aromatic wafts engulf you to soothe respiratory problems such as coughing fits and asthma. Alternatively, to soothe muscle spasms and cramps, you can add 4-5 drops of the oil in a tub of warm, bathing water and soak your aching muscles inside.

2. Helps to Heal Infections

Cardamom oil exhibits much antibacterial and antimicrobial potential, thus making it a great first aid addition to have! It is able to effectively kill off bacteria and viruses on external wounds and cuts, as well as eradicate bacteria that can form internally within your organs and various bodily systems!

As such, it helps to prevent wounds from becoming septic and developing further infections. Furthermore, it helps to heal and prevent the growth of viruses and infections from within the body, therefore augmenting the health and immune system as well as maintaining the progress of our various bodily systems!

How to Use it: By diluting cardamom oil with a carrier oil (such as coconut, jojoba or almond oil) in a 1:1 ratio, proceed to gently apply it onto the affected areas using a cotton swab.

3. Augments Oral Health

As established earlier, cardamom oil has much antibacterial and antimicrobial activity, which means it can support oral health and the maintenance of your mouth cavity by getting rid of common problems such as bad breath, cavities and gum infections.

A 2009 study done by researchers from the Department of Microbiology at Kurukshetra University in India explored the antibacterial effects of cardamom and found that the extracts exhibiting strong antimicrobial activity against various pathogenic bacterial strains which are known to cause oral problems.

Moreover, cardamom oil contains a major active component known as cineole, which is a powerful antiseptic known to rid one of bad breath! Not only that, it can also prevent the onset of cavities and tooth decay since it is able to kill off bacteria in the mouth.

Furthermore, more research, published in 2012 in the Dental Research Journal found that its taste can stimulate increased salivary flow and the fibrous outer coat to aid in cleansing the teeth! This is akin to that of the benefits of chewing gum, but without all the hassle and discomfort of chewing repeatedly. Thus, cardamom oil promotes oral health greatly.

How to Use it: You can add 1-2 drops of the oil in your toothpaste to brush your teeth regularly in it. Alternatively, you can also add it to a cup of water to create a gargle mixture. However, be careful not to ingest the mixture while brushing your teeth or rinsing your mouth with it.

4. Augments Digestive Health

Cardamom oil is also very potent in supporting the health of the digestive system. In fact, cardamom has been traditionally widely used in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine to treat a whole range of stomach and digestive issues.

In fact, research from 2006, published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology found that cardamom significantly inhibited gastric lesions and the growth of stomach ulcers. The methanolic extract from the cardamom spice is an important component that helps to prevent gastrointestinal disorders such as acid reflux, flatulence and stomach cramps.

Its stomachic qualities ensure that it stimulates the whole digestive system by keeping the stomach healthy and functioning properly through the prevention of such digestive-related diseases. It also ensures proper secretion of digestive enzymes and bile to facilitate proper breakdowns of the food.

A 2013 research study carried out by researchers in Carolinas Medical Center University has also found that cardamom oil, like ginger is able to combat nausea arising from post-operation. They found that when cardamom oil was used in aromatherapy treatments, the nausea levels in the test subjects were significantly reduced, especially when combined with ginger essential oil too!

How to Use it: You can blend about 2-3 drops of cardamom oil with equal amounts of a carrier oil and gently rub it on your lower abdominal area. Alternatively, to rid yourself from nausea, you can diffuse the oil into a diffuser or vaporizer.

5. May Have Cancer-Preventive Potential

There have been studies conducted to test for cardamom oil’s anti-cancer potential. A 2013 study that was published in the Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention found that cardamom oil exhibited poly-pharmacological anti-tumor activity, thus it is able to inhibit the formation of cancer cells and tumors.

Even though more research needs to be carried out, but such initial experiments illustrates how cardamom oil is a potential chemotherapy and chemopreventive agent in battling cancer as it is able to kill off cancer cells and inhibit the growth of tumors as well as decrease general inflammation that can potentially be cancer-causing. Therefore, such prospects are no doubt promising but more research still needs to be done to ascertain how exactly to incorporate cardamom oil in cancer preventive treatments.

6. Potent Antioxidant and Detoxifier

Cardamom oil also contains diuretic and detoxifying properties, which means it is able to induce the removal of toxic substances out from the body. It is able to increase the frequency and quantity of urine levels as well as induce much sweating due to its warming effects, thus removing urea, uric acid, excess fats, salt and water out from the system.

Therefore, it seeks to actively cleanse our vital internal organs and prevents infections from setting in, thus boosting our overall health and immune system! Additionally, this particularly Indian spice, is a potent antioxidant as it contains useful chemical constituents that exhibit radical scavenging activity, as illustrated by a 2007 research study published in Biofactors. As such, it can fight off free radical damage and detoxifies the body.

How to Use it: By mixing it with a carrier oil, you can gently rub the diluted cardamom oil onto your lower abdominal area to stimulate detoxifying and antioxidant actions. Alternatively, you can also add 4-5 drops of the oil in warm, bathing water to induce such processes in your body.

Safety Precautions:

• Before topical application onto the skin, be sure to dilute with a carrier oil (such as coconut, jojoba or almond oil) and perform a skin patch test first to a non-sensitive area of your skin to ascertain for any sensitive or allergic reactions.

• If you are pregnant, nursing or are taking any other prescribed medications, do seek the advice of a professional health expert before using essential oils as a form of treatment as the warming effect of cardamom oil can cause irritations and side-effects.

• If you would like to ingest or take cardamom essential oil internally to reap its digestive and antioxidant effects, be sure to consult a medical practitioner for professional health advice before proceeding to do so. The normal protocol would be to only add one drop of the oil into a glass of water or cup of tea and ensure proper dilution before consuming.

References:

Arif ullah Khan, Qaiser Jabeen Khan, Anwar Hassan Gilani, “Pharmacological basis for the medicinal use of cardamom in asthma”, Bangladesh Journal of Pharmacology (2011); 6(1)

K R Aneja, Radhika Joshi, “Antimicrobial Activity of Amomum subulatum and Elettaria cardamomum Against Dental Caries Causing Microorganism”, International Journal of Ethnobotanical Research (2009)

Ratika Sharma, “Cardamom comfort”, Dental Research Journal (2012); 9(2)

Jamal A, et al., “Gastroprotective effect of cardamom, Elettaria cardamomum Maton. fruits in rats” Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2006); 103(2)

Hunt R, et al., “Aromatherapy as treatment for postoperative nausea: a randomized trial”, PubMed (2013); 117(3)

Bhattacharjee B, Chatterjee J, “Identification of proapoptopic, anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, anti-invasive and anti-angiogenic targets of essential oils in cardamom by dual reverse virtual screening and binding pose analysis”, Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention (2013); 14(6)

Yadav AS, Bhatnagar D, “Free radical scavenging activity, metal chelation and antioxidant power of some of the Indian spices”, Biofactors (2007); 31(3-4)