Phenolic compounds in cardamom found to be potent antioxidants when added to coffee

Cardamom, when added to coffee, not only affects the beverage’s flavor and aroma, but the resulting blend is an excellent source of antioxidative compounds as well. These findings, published in CyTA – Journal of Food, looked at the bioavailability of certain phytochemicals from coffee and cardamom.

• The researchers used roasted coffee (Coffea arabica) and ground cardamom spice in their study. The ingredients were extracted for water-soluble antioxidants and phenolics, and both were analyzed separately, as well as in a combination.
• In particular, the antiradical potential, ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), chelating power (CHEL), OH scavenging capacity (OH), superoxide dismutase-like activity, lipoxygenase (LOXi), and xanthine oxidase (XOi) inhibitory potential were evaluated for bioaccessibility.
• The interaction between the phytochemicals from coffee and cardamom was examined as well.
• Researchers found that the antioxidant activities in the combined resultant mixture were the product of the phenolic compounds from both ingredients.
• FRAP, CHEL, and XOi interactions during simulated digestion were similar to that of chemical standards. However, LOX inhibitors acted differently during digestion from the standard.

Based on these findings, there is a correlation between the phenols in cardamom and coffee which affect their biological activities.

Find the full text of the study at this link.

Journal Reference:

Durak A, Gawlik-Dziki U, Kowalska I. EVALUATION OF INTERACTIONS BETWEEN COFFEE AND CARDAMOM, THEIR TYPE, AND STRENGTH IN RELATION TO INTERACTIONS IN A MODEL SYSTEM. CyTA – Journal of Food. 27 April 2016;15(2):266–276. DOI: 10.1080/19476337.2016.1247298