Cardamom consumption may improve cardiovascular metabolic biomarkers in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

The bioactive compounds in cardamom have been found to enhance cardiovascular health by improving blood lipids and inflammation. We hypothesized that cardamom consumption might ameliorate cardiovascular metabolic biomarkers in adults; however, there is still ongoing debate regarding its impact on cardiac metabolism. The research was therefore designed to determine if cardamom consumption had a favorable impact upon lipid profiles, inflammatory markers, and oxidative stress indices as they related to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). A comprehensive search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library as July 4, 2023. Using a random-effects model pooled the weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI). The final 12 trials containing 989 participants were included. The results illustrated that cardamom consumption could improve total cholesterol (WMD = -8.56 mg/dL; 95% CI: -14.90, -2.22), triglycerides (WMD = -14.09 mg/dL; 95% CI: -24.01, -4.17), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (WMD = -1.01 ng/mL; 95% CI: -1.81, -0.22), and interleukin-6 (WMD = -1.81 pg/mL; 95% CI: -3.06, -0.56). However, it did not have significant influences on high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and some indicators of oxidative stress. In conclusion, cardamom consumption can improve specific cardiovascular metabolic biomarkers, and potentially confer protective effects on cardiovascular health. However, more large-scale clinical research with better designs should be required to further validate the findings, which will offer substantial evidence of cardamom as nutritional and functional products.