Studies on quality attributes of cultivars of large cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb.)

Physical and chemical quality attributes of authentic regional cultivars (cv) of large cardamom obtained from North, South, East and West regions of Sikkim (India), Bhutan and Nepal were evaluated. The minimum, maximum and mean values for 12 Sikkim samples in respect of the major quality parameters were moisture (7.2, 14.9 and 10.5%), bulk density (302.0, 374.8 and 344.8 g/l), husk to seed ratio (1:1.7, 1:1.25 and 1:2.2), anthocyanins (46.2, 222.3 and 98.4 mg/100 g), volatile oil (2.6, 4.2 and 3.4% v/w), total ash (3.6, 4.3 and 3.9%), and NVEE (2.8, 3.0 and 2.9%). GC analysis of the volatile oils showed that there was considerable variation among the cultivars with respect to alpha-pinene (3:2-4.5%), beta-pinene (6.7-8.5%), 1,8-cineol (80.4-84.6%), 4-terpineol (0.60-1.30%) and alpha-terpineol (3.3-4.3%). The oils were similar with respect to specific gravity and refractive index; but optical rotation values varied to some extent. Analysis for metals by AAS showed that the seeds contained cadmium (0.06, 0.07 and 0.07 ppm), lead (0.12, 0.37 and 0.24 ppm), copper (5.14, 9.68 and 6.33 ppm) and iron (28.51, 111.19 and 55.28 ppm). In the capsules the content of metals were cadmium (0.11, 0.20 and 0.15 ppm), lead (0.18, 0.39 and 0.31 ppm), copper (4.4, 7.3 and 5.8 ppm) and iron (44.5, 207.5 and 111.6 ppm). Analysis of the seed and capsules for heavy metals showed that there was considerable variation among regional varieties with respect to only iron content, whereas cadmium, lead and copper levels were of close range. Capsules differed from the corresponding seeds in heavy metal contents.