Green and Black Cardamom in a Diet-Induced Rat Model of Metabolic Syndrome

Maharshi Bhaswant,Michael Mathai,Lindsay Brown,Peter Mouatt,Hemant Poudyal,Leigh Ward

doi:10.3390/nu7095360

Abstract

Both black (B) and green (G) cardamom are used as flavours during food preparation. This study investigated the responses to B and G in a diet-induced rat model of human metabolic syndrome. Male Wistar rats were fed either a corn starch-rich diet (C) or a high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet with increased simple sugars along with saturated and trans fats (H) for 16 weeks. H rats showed signs of metabolic syndrome leading to visceral obesity with hypertension, glucose intolerance, cardiovascular remodelling and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Food was supplemented with 3% dried B or G for the final eight weeks only. The major volatile components were the closely related terpenes, 1,8-cineole in B and α-terpinyl acetate in G. HB (high-carbohydrate, high-fat + black cardamom) rats showed marked reversal of diet-induced changes, with decreased visceral adiposity, total body fat mass, systolic blood pressure and plasma triglycerides, and structure and function of the heart and liver. In contrast, HG (high-carbohydrate, high-fat + green cardamom) rats increased visceral adiposity and total body fat mass, and increased heart and liver damage, without consistent improvement in the signs of metabolic syndrome. These results suggest that black cardamom is more effective in reversing the signs of metabolic syndrome than green cardamom.

Highlights

Spices are used to flavour foods but they may be effective as functional foods to improve health or decrease the risk of disease [1,2,3]
Black cardamom had an increased carbohydrate content but decreased fat content compared to green cardamom (Table 2)
Given the few studies reporting the therapeutic effects of green and black cardamom, the aim of this study was to determine the responses to chronic dietary supplementation of α-terpinyl acetate-containing green cardamom and 1,8-cineole-containing black cardamom in rats fed either low-fat, corn starch diet or a high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet as a model of metabolic syndrome

Summary

Introduction

Spices are used to flavour foods but they may be effective as functional foods to improve health or decrease the risk of disease [1,2,3]. Spices may decrease metabolic syndrome, defined as the cluster of obesity, hypertension, diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease [4]. These metabolic perturbations lead to chronic changes in the structure and function of the heart, liver, kidneys and pancreas [5]. Dry pods of cardamom contain volatile oils, phenolic acids, lipids and sterols [10,11]. Both black and green cardamom contain terpenes in the essential oils, with 1,8-cineole and α-terpineol found in black cardamom and α-terpinyl acetate and 1,8-cineole in green cardamom [10,11]

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Conclusion