BACKGROUND: This paper describes the chemical analysis of the essential oil and various oleoresins of Elettaria cardamomum (seeds and pods) by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) techniques. It also compares the effects of the different extraction solvents used (chloroform, methanol, ethanol and diethyl ether) on the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the essential oil and oleoresins. RESULTS: The essential oil was found to contain 71 compounds. The major components were α-terpinyl acetate (44.3%), 1,8-cineole (10.7%), α-terpineol (9.8%) and linalool (8.6%). The chloroform and methanol oleoresins both contained α-terpinyl acetate (21.8 and 25.9% respectively) as the main component, while 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (28.9%) was the most abundant compound in the ethanol oleoresin. However, very few components (total 0.61%) were found in the diethyl ether oleoresin. The antioxidant activities of the essential oil and oleoresins, studied in mustard oil by monitoring the peroxide value of the oil substrate, were comparable to those of the synthetic antioxidants butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) at 0.02% concentration. The essential oil exhibited strong antibacterial activity against the micro-organisms Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi at 3000 ppm by the agar well diffusion method. Antifungal activity was tested against the food-borne fungi Aspergillus terreus, Penicillium purpurogenum, Fusarium graminearum and Penicillium madriti. The methanol and ethanol oleoresins gave the best results against A. terreus at 3000 ppm by the poison food method. CONCLUSION: This study provides important information about the chemistry and antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of E. cardamomum. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry
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