Cardamom Extract (Elettaria cardamomum)

Green cardamom is the dried fruit of Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton (Zingiberaceae), the spice Indian trade calls elaichi, and Thovek supplies it as an extract of the cleaned seed rather than as milled pod. Capsules are decorticated, the seed is milled and extracted in water or aqueous ethanol, and the concentrate is spray-dried to a free-flowing powder. Two commercial routes exist and they suit different buyers: a native 4:1 or 10:1 concentrate where the whole-seed profile is wanted, and a grade standardised on 1,8-cineole by GC where a number has to appear on the certificate. Origin and crop year are stated per lot. India, Indonesia and Guatemala dominate world supply — in 2022 India produced 41,000 tonnes, Indonesia 40,565 tonnes and Guatemala 36,407 tonnes, together about 85% of a 138,888 tonne world crop. The commercial value of cardamom sits in its volatile fraction, and that is where most first purchases go wrong. The seed carries a heavy essential-oil load — literature puts it as high as 8% of the seed — and that oil is dominated by 1,8-cineole (eucalyptol, CAS 470-82-6, C10H18O, molecular weight 154.25) and alpha-terpinyl acetate (CAS 80-26-2, C12H20O2, molecular weight 196.29), commonly reported at roughly 20–50% and around 30% of the seed oil respectively, with myrcene, limonene and beta-phellandrene filling out the profile. These are volatiles. A hot aqueous extraction followed by spray-drying strips most of them, so a dry cardamom extract powder is not an aroma material unless it has been deliberately built as one. If the requirement is the smell and taste of cardamom, the correct line item is the oleoresin or the steam-distilled oil and Thovek quotes those separately; if the requirement is a standardised botanical powder for a capsule, tablet or churna, the dried extract is right and the 1,8-cineole figure should be read as an identity and consistency marker rather than as the payload. One distinction belongs in the purchase order itself. Green or true cardamom is Elettaria cardamomum; black or large cardamom is Amomum subulatum, a different genus with a smoky, camphoraceous character and a different price. The two are not interchangeable and the words 'cardamom extract' on their own do not say which is being bought, so Thovek quotes Elettaria unless a buyer specifies Amomum in writing. Every lot is released against GC or HPTLC identity, ICP-MS heavy metals, pesticide residues, aflatoxins and ochratoxin A and full microbiology. Material is vegan and vegetarian with no milk, egg, soy, fish, crustacean, gluten, peanut, tree nut, sesame, mustard or celery input and no animal-derived processing aid; where flowability requires a carrier it is non-GMO maize maltodextrin, which is gluten-free. Cross-contact in a shared spice facility is controlled by segregation and can be confirmed by ELISA on request. Organic (NPOP / NOP / EU) lots ship with a transaction certificate. Cardamom is a food spice with a long culinary and Ayurvedic history; any positioning beyond composition and flavour is for the brand to substantiate in its own market.