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.