Abstract

Cardamom has the potential to offer anti-inflammatory and antihypertensive advantages, but the findings from clinical trials have been inconsistent. To address this knowledge gap, the present systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antihypertensive effects of cardamom in adults. We systematically searched databases including PubMed, Scopus, and ISI Web of Sciences, for papers published up to October 2022 to identify clinical studies. Eight eligible studies were included in the meta-analysis. A fixed model was used to estimate weighted mean difference (WMD), standardized mean difference (SMD), and 95 confidence interval (95 CI). The results showed that cardamom significantly reduced the levels of inflammatory factors, including hs-CRP (SMD: -0.60 mg/dL; 95 CI: -0.78 to 0.42), IL-6 (WMD: -1.25 mg/dL; 95 CI: -1.48 to -1.03), TNF-alpha (WMD: -2.10 kg; 95 CI: -2.36 to -1.84, p < .001), and measures of systolic (WMD: -0.54 mmHg, 95 CI: -0.88, -0.19, p = .002) and diastolic (WMD: -0.90 mmHg; 95 CI: -1.07 to -0.73) blood pressure. The current meta-analysis showed that cardamom can help reduce inflammation and improve blood pressure. However, due to the limited number of studies, caution must be exercised when interpreting the current results.