Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) as a tool for helping with Cardiovascular / heart health

Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton. (Small cardamom) fruit powder was evaluated for its antihypertensive potential and its effect on some of the cardiovascular risk factors in individuals with stage 1 hypertension. Twenty, newly diagnosed individuals with primary hypertension of stage 1 were administered 3 g of cardamom powder in two divided doses for 12 weeks. Blood pressure was recorded initially and at 4 weeks interval for 3 months. Blood samples were also collected initially and at 4 weeks interval for estimation of lipid profile, fibrinogen and fibrinolysis. Total antioxidant status, however, was assessed initially and at the end of the study. Administration of 3 g cardamom powder significantly (p<0.001) decreased systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressure and significantly (p<0.05) increased fibrinolytic activity at the end of 12th week. Total antioxidant status was also significantly (p<0.05) increased by 90% at the end of 3 months. However, fibrinogen and lipid levels were not significantly altered. All study subjects experienced a feeling of well being without any side-effects. Thus, the present study demonstrates that small cardamom effectively reduces blood pressure, enhances fibrinolysis and improves antioxidant status, without significantly altering blood lipids and fibrinogen levels in stage 1 hypertensive individuals.

Previous studies have demonstrated that traditional Chinese medicine Bao Gan Ning, which contains six different drugs: Trionyx sinensis Wiegmann shell, Prunus persica (L.) Batsch seed, Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge. root, Mallotus opelta (Lour.) Muell-Arg root, Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. var. mongho-licus (Bge.) Hsiao root and Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi root, was able to protect liver against fibrosis in CCL4 models. In an effort to elucidate molecular mechanisms by which Bao Gan Ning exerts its anti-fibrosis activity, effects of Bao Gan Ning on liver fibrosis and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB), an important transcription factor involved in liver fibrosis, were evaluated in animal and cell models in this work. Results showed that Bao Gan Ning (2.16 or 4.32 g/kg/day) significantly decreased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and hyaluronidase levels and reversed liver fibrosis in rat liver fibrosis models. The proliferation of HSC-T6, a hepatic stellate cell line, was also significantly inhibited by incubation with serums that were prepared from rats fed with Bao Gan Ning. Most interestingly, results from Western blot, immunohistochemistry and electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) showed that Bao Gan Ning up-regulated CREB phosphorylation both in rat liver fibrosis models and in HSC-T6 cells, but did not affect protein level of CREB and the DNA binding activity of CREB. These results suggested that up-regulation of CREB phosphorylation may be involved in anti-fibrosis activity of Chinese medicine Bao Gan Ning.