Scientific Name Amomum subulatum Roxb. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Family Zingiberaceae
Used Part Fruit
Distribution Area A tall, perennial herb, with leafy stems, up to 2.5 m in height, found in the eastern Himalayas and cultivated in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Nepal, northern West Bengal, Sikkim, and Assam hills.
Common Uses . The seeds are aromatic and pungent, with a sharp, pleasant taste; they are similar in properties to the true cardamom for which they are often substituted both as a spice and as a masticatory or as an ingredient of chewing preparation. In South India, large cardamom is used in the preparation of snuff and agarbatties. Medicinally, the seeds are credited with stimulant, stomachic, alexipharmic and astrigent properties, and are prescribed for the treatment of indigestation, vomiting, biliousness, abdominal pains and rectal diseases. A decoction of the seeds is used as a gargle in affections of the teeth and gums. With melon seeds, they are used as a diuretic in cases of gravel of the kidneys. They promote elimination of bile and are useful in congestion of liver; they are also used in gonorrhoea. In large doses (30 grains) with quinine, they are useful in neuralgia. The pericarp is useful in headache and heals stomatitis. The aromatic oil extracted from the seeds is applied to the eyes to allay inflammation.
In Ayurvedic and Unani medicines large cardamoms are used as
a preventive as well as a curative for throat troubles, congestion of lungs, inflammation of eyelids, digestive disorders and in the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.
