title: Green and Black Cardamom in a Diet-Induced Rat Model of Metabolic Syndrome.
abstract: Both black (B) and green (G) cardamom are used as flavours during food preparation. This study investigated the responses to B and G in a diet-induced rat model of human metabolic syndrome. Male Wistar rats were fed either a corn starch-rich diet (C) or a high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet with increased simple sugars along with saturated and trans fats (H) for 16 weeks. H rats showed signs of metabolic syndrome leading to visceral obesity with hypertension, glucose intolerance, cardiovascular remodelling and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Food was supplemented with 3% dried B or G for the final eight weeks only. The major volatile components were the closely related terpenes, 1,8-cineole in B and α-terpinyl acetate in G. HB (high-carbohydrate, high-fat + black cardamom) rats showed marked reversal of diet-induced changes, with decreased visceral adiposity, total body fat mass, systolic blood pressure and plasma triglycerides, and structure and function of the heart and liver. In contrast, HG (high-carbohydrate, high-fat + green cardamom) rats increased visceral adiposity and total body fat mass, and increased heart and liver damage, without consistent improvement in the signs of metabolic syndrome. These results suggest that black cardamom is more effective in reversing the signs of metabolic syndrome than green cardamom.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention & Management, College of Health and Biomedicine, Victoria University, Melbourne 3021, Australia. cmaharshi@gmail.com.|School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba 4350, Australia. cmaharshi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Maharshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bhaswant
authors.affiliation: Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Nutrition, Graduate School of Medicine and the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan. hpoudyal@kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Hemant
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Poudyal
authors.affiliation: Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention & Management, College of Health and Biomedicine, Victoria University, Melbourne 3021, Australia. michael.mathai@vu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Michael L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Mathai
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia 4072, Australia. l.ward@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Leigh C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.affiliation: Southern Cross Plant Science, Analytical Research Laboratories, Southern Cross University, East Lismore 2480, Australia. Peter.Mouatt@scu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mouatt
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba 4350, Australia. Lindsay.Brown@usq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Lindsay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001793:Blood Preservation; D059305:Diet, High-Fat; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000032:analysis; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D028523:Elettaria / Q000737:chemistry; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat / Q000503:physiopathology; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014664:Vasodilation; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D014280:Triglycerides
keywords: cardamom; hypertension; metabolic syndrome; obesity; rats