black cardamom

Amomum is a genus of plants native to China, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Queensland.It includes several species of cardamom, especially black cardamom. Plants of this genus are remarkable for their pungency and aromatic properties.A rhizomatous perennial herb with leafy stems. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, glabrous on both sides, 15-30.5 by 5-10 cm. Spikes radical, shortly peduncled, globose; corolla-tube 2.5 cm; segments obtuse, nearly as long as the tube, white; lip pale yellow, as long as the corolla-segments, outer half deflexed. Fruit ovate, 2.5 cm, oblong-trigonous, somewhat rugose.

Amomumaromaticum Roxb.is a species of the Zingiberaceae family, which is a common spice and food flavoring agent in Vietnam and other Asian countries. The fruits of this plant have been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of cough, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and malaria. The oils of seeds have been used in India for benefiting the digestive system, applied to the eyelids to eliminate the inflammation .

Recently, A. aromaticum essential oils are shown as promising antileishmanial agent in a screening program of 37 plants of Vietnam flora . The methanolic extract of A. aromaticum exhibited significant antimicrobial activity against Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacteraerogenes, Proteus mirabilis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa with the MIC values ranging.