Cardamomum, Lesser CardamomSukshmaila (Ayurveda)Heel Khurd (Fruit, Unani) Dana Heel Khurd (Seed, Unani) Sug smel སུག་སྨེལ (Tibetan) |
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Ortus Sanitatis, Cube, Johann von, 1501 |
Ortus Sanitatis, Meydenbach, 1491 |
Lesser CardamonIcones Plantarum Medcio-oeconomico, Vietz, 1800
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Indiae Utriusque re Naturali et Medica, Pisonis, 1658 |
Lesser, Medium and Greater Cardamons New Kreuterbuch, Matthiolus, 1563 |
Lesser Cardamon (Adam, 2016)Botanical name:
Elettaria cardamomum (syn. Amomum caradmomum) is the Lesser Cardamon.
There are a number of different Cardamons; the main types are:
- Lesser Cardamon: Elettaria cardamomum; Ela (Ayurveda); Heel Khurd (Unani); Sug Smel (Tibetan)
- Greater Cardamon: Amomum subulatum; Sha Ren (TCM); Bahula, Bhadra (Ayurveda); Heel Kalan (Unani)
- Grains of Paradise: Aframomum melegueta; Heel Habshi (Unani)
Parts used:
Fruit
Temperature & Taste:
Warm, dry. Pungent, Sweet
“It is hot and dry in the third degree” (Avicenna)
Classification:
3C. ALEXIPHARMIC. 3D. CORDIALS & CARDIACS
4a. CEPHALIC. 4c. CARDIAC. 4e. STOMACHIC. 4j. NERVINE
Uses:
1. Moves Qi, clears Damp, Warms the Stomach:
-poor appetite (Commission E), nausea, distention, indigestion, vomiting
-good for Hiccup
-“It strengthens the Stomach.” (Avicenna)
-Liver and Gall Bladder complaints (Commission E)
2. Clears Phlegm, Stops Cough:
-Phlegm obstructing the Chest; tightness of the Chest
-Cough, Bronchitis (Ayurveda, Commission E); Asthma in Ayurveda
-Rhinitis, Catarrh (Ayurveda)
-Fevers, Common Cold (Commission E)
3. Warms the Kidneys, Promotes Urine:
-Cold Kidneys with copious pale urine, lower back pain
-Cystitis, Nephritis, Gonorrhea, scanty, difficult or suppressed Urine
-Gravel and Stones
-Impotence; Promotes Conception
-regarded as a useful Female tonic (associated with Cold Kidneys)
-promotes Menstruation, expels the Fetus (Galen)
-in Tibetan Medicine it is one of the Six Excellent Medicines, being the medicine for the Kidney
4. Rasayana (Tonic):
-in India regarded as a strengthening tonic; it is a Brain, Heart and Liver tonic, promoting strength
-In Tibet as a special medicine to strengthen the Kidneys and support the Yang.
Dose:
With wine for obstructed or difficult Urine
Powder: 250mg–3 grams;
Decoction 3–6 grams (up to 12 grams)
Substitutes:
1. Cubeb
2. Greater Cardamon (Amomum) (Unani) (Only for digestive disorders)
3. The Chinese call Cardamon (Elettaria) “Lu Dou Kou” (Green Dou Kou) while Amomum krervanh is called “Bai Dou Kou” (White Dou Kou). They are similar in effect.
Correctives:
1. Tabasheer
2. Greater Cardamon (Amomum) (Unani)
Comment:
The Cardamons are similar in effect and smell. However, Lesser (Green) Cardamon is more focused on the Kidneys, while the Greater Cardamon is a specific medicines for the Spleen. In various texts, the Greater and Lesser have been recommended as acceptable substitutes for one another, so their use is similar. They are also often combined in formula.
Main Combinations:
Urinary
1. Kidney disorders, urinary obstructions, stones or tumors of the Bladder, Lesser Cardamon with Ginger, Long Pepper, Mallow seed, Crab shell (as in Cardamon 10 of Tibetan Medicine)
2. Suppressed Urine, Lesser Cardamon is taken with the juice of Emblic Myrobalan (Ayurveda)
3. Painful or Difficult Urination (Dysuria):
i. Lesser Cardamon with Tribulus seed, Coriander seed, Boerhaavia
ii. Lesser Cardamon with Bergenia, Shilajit, Long Pepper
4. Stones:
i. Lesser Cardamon with Bay tree bark (Laurus). (Dioscorides)
ii. Lesser Cardamon with Long Pepper, Tribulus, Licorice, Agnus Castus, with a large proportion of Shilajit (Chakradatta)
Reproduction
5. To promote Conception, Lesser Cardamon with Spearmint, Ginger, Walnut, Pistachio
6. Female tonic, Lesser Cardamon with Soloman’s Seal Asparagus root, Nutmeg, Aloeswood
7. Hysteria, Lesser Cardamon with Gentian and Orange peel
Digestion
8. Loss of appetite, indigestion, Colic, Atonic Dyspepsia:
i. Lesser Cardamon with Amomum (Greater Cardamon). (Isaac)
ii, Lesser Cardamon with Cumin and Mastic (Nicholas)
iii. Lesser Cardamon with Fennel, Cumin, Ginger
iv. Atonic Dyspepsia, Lesser Cardamon with Ginger, Clove, Caraway (equal parts) (Ayurveda)
9. Nausea, Vomiting:
i. Lesser Cardamon, Cumin, decoct together (Siddha)
ii. Lesser Cardamon, Ginger, Mastic
iii. Lesser Cardamon, Mastic, Pomegranate juice (Avicenna)
Lungs
10. Phlegm disorders, Lesser Cardamon, Cinnamon, Mesua ferrea
11. Lung disorders from excess Phlegm, Lesser Cardamon with Cinnamon, Long Pepper, Clove, Chebulic Myrobalan
12. Cough, Asthma from Phlegm:
i. take Lesser Cardamon with Honey
ii. chronic cough and Asthma, take an infusion of Cardamon (Syrian ‘Book of Medicine‘, Budge, 1913)
13. Bronchitis, Asthma, Lesser Cardamon with Clove, Mesua, Cyperus rotundus, Sandalwood, Long Pepper, Jujube seed, Callicarpa with Honey (as in Eladi Churna from Bhaisajyaratnavali)
Other
14. To warm and stimulate the Heart and Kidneys, Lesser Cardamon with Long Pepper root (Ayurveda)
15. Melancholy, Lesser Cardamon with Ginger, Saffron, Balm, Marjoram (as in Powder for Melancholy of Philon)
Major Formulas
Tincture of Cardamon
Powder for Loss of Appetite (Nicholas)
Powder Helpful for Epilepsy (Alexander)
Powder for Melancholy (Philon)
Powder for Foul and Intolerable Appetite in Women (Nicholas)
Troches for Heart Weakness
Electuary of Aloeswood (Diaxyloaloes) (Mesue)
Triphera of the Saracens (Triphera Saracenica Magna)
Cardamon 7 (Sug smel 7) (Tibetan)
Cardamon 10 (Sug smel bcu pa) (Tibetan)
Cardamon 19 (Sug smel bcu dgu) (Tibetan)
Aloeswood 31 (Tibetan)
Aloeswood 35 (Tibetan)
Camphor 14 (Tibetan)
Eladi Churna (Cardamon Powder (Ayurveda)
Pomegranate Water Transformer (Se bru chu bsgyur) (Tibetan)
Six Excellent Medicines (Tibetan)
Cautions:
Dry, so not suitable in Yin deficiency.
Main Preparations used:
Distilled Oil, Distilled Water, Confection of Cardamom
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Extra Info
- History
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Research
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‘The small cardamom, in Sanskrit Ela, is mentioned by Susruta. In the Nighantas it bears various synonyms, such as Truti, Kapota-varni “grey,” Korangi, and Dravidi “coming from the Dravidian country.” The large or Nepal cardamom (Amomum subulatum) is called Sthulaila “large Ela,” and is described separately. Both kinds arc considered to be digestive, pungent, light and hot, and are recommended in phlegmatic affections, such as cough, asthma, piles, and diseases of the bladder and kidneys. These two cardamoms are described by Ibn Sina under the name of kakulah; he also describes separately under the name of hilbawa another kind of cardamom as more easily digested than the kakulah. This latter cardamom is the true Cardamomum majus or Nutmeg cardamom of Africa to which Pereira has given the name of Amomum korarima. We think that there can be no doubt that the Greeks were acquainted with the cardamoms of India which they appear to have first obtained from the Persians through Syria and Armenia. Dioscorides says:— “Choose that which is tough, well filled, closed; if not in this state, it is too old |
and has lost its aroma. The taste is pungent and somewhat bitter.” With respect to the name Katiddus, the Greeks appear to have applied it to this spice in much the same way as the Persians applied the name kakalah, which originally meant the fruit of some other plant which was used for flavouring bread. In the Burhan it is stated that the name kakulah is also given by some to a fruit like Sapandan (a kind of cress), which is the same as Ilachi. Besides the two Indian cardamoms, there is a large kind of cardamom which comes from Ceylon, now found in commerce. Dr. Trimen, in his Systematic Catalogue of the Flowering Plants and Ferns of Ceylon, speaks of the plant which produces it as Elettaria cardamomum, Maton, var. major— the Ensal of the Singhalese. As a masticatory and for flavouring food, the Malabar or small cardamom is preferred by the natives, but the other kinds, which are cheaper and of less delicate flavour, are largely used by the sweetmeat makers.’ (Pharmacographia Indica, Dymock, 1893) |