cardamom chemical constituents

CARDAMOM

synonyms:

cardamom fruit, seeds, cardamon

BIOLOGICAL SOURCE:

it consists of the dried ripe fruits of elettaria cardamomum maton var, minusula, burkill, the seeds should contain N.L.T 4% of volatile oil.

GEOGRAPHICAL SOURCE:

it occur wild in sri lanka and also in mayanmar, malaysia, in india it cultivated scientifically in karnataka and tamilnadu, kerala.it grows in wild malabar hills. guatemala is the largest producer of cardamom in the world.

CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS:

cardamom contains volatile oil to the extent of 2% to 8%. the active constituent of the volatile oil is cineole. other aromatic compounds present are terpinyl acetate, terpineole, borneole, terpinene,etc...

the other constituents of the cardamom seeds are fixed oil, starch and proteins.

during 1986-87, india has xported cardamom oil of Rs.25 lakhswhile there was decline in xportthere after....

USES:

cardamom is used as an aromatic, a carminative and stimulant. als ngood flavouring agent.

CULTIVATION&COLLECTION:

The cultivation of cardamom needs 150-600 cm of rainfall. The altitude, which sits the drug, favourably is about 600-1600 m and the temp range required is b/w 50⁰-100⁰ F.

It grows on a variety of soils, but the soil should be full of moisture and also well-drained. Mulching is necessary for cardamom cultivation. The cultivation of the drug varies to a very great extent in diff regions and is done by sowing the seeds. The seeds of cardamom are very hard and take four months to germinate. They are either sown by broadcasting method or selected seeds are sown in the prepared seed bed. Cardamom-71, and cardamom-81 are the varieties giving the highest yields per hectare.

The seedlings are transplanted into nursery beds, and finally in the fields. The germination of the seeds is poor (30-40%) fresh seeds should always be used for cultivation. The seed-beds of

1×10 m are prprd on the raised grounds. The seeds are sown and covered with soft earth. Sowing is done from august to October and it takes 7-8 weeks for germination. In Tamilnadu

The cultivation is done in the month of Feb and march abt 3-4 months old seedlings are transplanted into the nursery bed by keeping a distance of 15-40cm in b/w...... the seedlings, begin delicate, and are provided with sheds in the beginning. When they are abt 130cm in height or bear about 8-10 leaves and are 1-1.5 years old. They are transplanted in the forest fields just before the setting of the monsoon. The cardamom plants start bearing from the third year of their planting. The flowering commences in May and continues up to August. The fruits are picked up just before their ripening, so as to prevent the capsules from splitting on the floors. The collected capsules are dried after harvesting either in the sun or in artificial dryers.

During drying, the fruits shrink and the shrunk appearance

Persists in the final product. The artificial drying takes abt 48 hours, while natural drying in the sun requires more time.

In sun-drying the bleaching of the fruits takes place to some xtent while in artificial drying the green colour of the capsule is maintained. The sun dried fruits are preferred, cause the seeds remain intact and also the characteristic sweetish aroma can be maintained. The fruits loose abt 70-80% of their weight during drying. The fruits are hand-rubbed and seived to remove forign matter. The avg life of a cardamom plant is abt 20-25 yrs and yield per hectare in the beginning 20-50 kg and may reach 70 kg in successive yrs. Many a time the fruits are subjected to the tratment of  bleaching with sulphur dioxide

To improve the colour. Therefore, they are bagged, stored and

Transported as needed. The cardamom act of 1965 was passed by the government to encourage the cultivation of the drug in karnataka.......

MICROSCOPIC CHARECTORS:

The outer as well as, inner epidermis of the pericarp are made up of polygonal tubular cells mesocarp is parenchymatous  in nature. Mesocarp includes few brown to yellow-coloured resinous cells along with partially lignified fibrovascular bundles.

The transverse section of the seed shows the presence of outermost layer of arillus,followed by two layers of testa which contain highly aromatic volatile oil.

Perisperm, endosperm and embryo charecteristic to the seed are also observed in the section calcium oxalate crystals and starch grains are present in the 

perisperm. 

  Puvvukonvict