Across all 3 studies, all reported beneficial effects of cardamom on reducing interleukin-6 levels, with 2 meta-analyses showing small effects and 1 randomized controlled trial showing a moderate effect. Effects were observed in clinical populations including patients with metabolic syndrome and obese women with PCOS, with a single reported dose of 3 g/day over 120 days showing significant reductions. The median study duration was 120 days, suggesting effects typically emerge after several weeks of supplementation.
Caveats: Evidence base is small (only 3 studies) — conclusions should be considered preliminary. Available evidence is overwhelmingly positive — clinical literature in this area is subject to publication bias (null-result studies are less likely to be published or indexed). Most data come from meta-analyses pooling heterogeneous trials; individual study designs and durations varied, and form data were not extracted, limiting specificity.
interleukin-6 (WMD = -1.81 pg/mL; 95% CI, -3.06 to -0.56)
interleukin 6 levels (WMD: -2.41 ng/L, 95%CI; -4.35, -0.47)
TNF-α, IL-6, and CRP serum levels were significantly decreased after the intervention with green cardamom plus low-calorie diet (P < 0.001).