Spices

Caraway benefits and side effects

January 3, 2020

Introduction

Caraway (Carum carvi; Family Umbelliferae) is a dried, ripe fruit having a pungent, aromatic anise-like flavor. The whole fruit, or powder or the essential oil is used as a spice in culinary dishes, confectionery, bread, beverages, and liquors (1). The crushed fruits and leaves are brewed into a tea, with a soothing effect on digestion. The leaves are eaten raw or cooked as a flavoring in soups and dishes or as spinach. Young leaves are less spicy than the seeds and are used in salads. The roots are used as a root vegetable like parsnip (2). Caraway benefits are anti-inflammatory, protects the kidney and helps in lactation.

Geographical distribution

It is normally found in Central and Northern Europe (The Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Finland, Poland, Hungary, and Britain) and in Egypt, Morocco, Australia, Siberia, Turkey, Iran, India, and China

The common name of Caraway

Zireh Siah, Black Zeera, Carum, Carvies, Medidein Fennel, Persian Cumin, Wild Cumin.

History

Caraway fruits were known to the Arabian physicians and probably came into use in Europe in the thirteenth century and used as a medicinal plant in traditional medicine for treating ailments such as flatulence, colic pain, and bronchitis. In addition, caraway has been widely used as a stomachic, antispasmodic, antibacterial, antiulcerogenic, and antiproliferative agent.

Main Constitutes of Caraway

Caraway fruit/seed contains carvone, limonene as its major monoterpene components, essential oil, fatty acids (petroselinic, linoleic and oleic acids), protein, carbohydrate, phenolic acids (caffeic acids), flavonoids (quercetin, kaempferol) (3).

Caraway essential oil

Caraway oil is a greenish shade of yellow color, normally contains essential oil (20–25%), and fixed oil (60–75%). Limonene (77 – 19% of the total oil) and carvone (20 – 79%) were the major ones. Other constituents included myrcene (0.72 – 0.16%), trans-carveol (0.07 – 0.39%), and β-caryophyllene (0.07 – 0.24%) (4).

Nutritional value of Caraway

According to USDA nutrient value of caraway seeds per 100 g is as follows (5)

Compound	Amounts per 100 g.
Water	9.87 g
Energy	333 Kcal
Protein	19.77 g
Total lipid (fat)	14.59 g
Carbohydrate	49.9 g
Fiber, total dietary	38 g
Sugar	0.64 g
Calcium	689 mg
Iron, Fe	16.23 mg
Magnesium	258 mg
Phosphorus	568 mg
Potassium	1351 mg
Sodium	17 mg
Zinc	5.5 mg
Copper	0.91 mg
Manganese	1.3 mg
Thiamin	0.38 mg
Riboflavin	0.38 mg
Niacin	3.60 mg
Folate DFE	10 µg
Vitamin B6	0.36 mg
vitamin B12	0 mg
Vitamin C	21 mg
Vitamin A RAE	18 µg
Vitamin A IU	363 IU
Vitamin E	2.5 mg
Fatty acids, total saturated	0.62 g
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated	7.12 g
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated	3.27 g

Caraway benefits

1. Treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

Intake of caraway and its essential oil daily for 5 consecutive days absorb readily from the gastrointestinal tract, thus reduce colon tissue injures and effective colitis (6).

2. Caraway is good for digestion

A combination of peppermint oil (90 mg) and caraway oil (50 mg) capsules reduce pain intensity (40%), pressure, heaviness, and fullness (43%) thus treat indigestion (7). Caraway (8 g) is also useful as a gas solvent which increases oral food intake after cesarean section by enhancement of postoperative bowel motility (8).

Furthermore, a powder containing ajwain, anise, cumin, and caraway daily as three teaspoons improve digestive systems by deletion of accumulated gas from the gastrointestinal tract and inhibiting muscle contractility by muscle relaxation (8).

3. Caraway increases lactation

Caraway essential oil is also helpful to reduce colic in the breastfed infant. Moreover, caraway helps to increase milk production in lactating mothers (9).

4. Protects the kidney from septic shock

Septic shock is a severe form of sepsis that causes organ failure and dangerously low blood pressure however administration of caraway essential oil protects kidney tissue against oxidative injury or sepsis induces organ failure (10).

5. Caraway helps in weight loss

Intake of caraway helps in balancing the gut microflora (GM) by helping in food digestion and absorption which decreases weight, body mass index, body fat percentage, and waist-to-hip ratio. Therefore, caraway is useful for the management of obesity (11). Moreover, caraway reduces body weight through suppressing appetite and reducing food intake (12).

6. Treat colon cancer

Caraway and its essential oil and seed inhibit colon premalignant lesions by reducing bad enzyme activity and increase good enzyme activity thus protect from colon cancer (13, 14).

7. Treat liver injury

Caraway essential oil shows high antioxidant and potent free-radical scavenger activity against carbon tetrachloride damage thus protect the liver from damage (15).

8. Caraway lowers cholesterol level

Intake of caraway fruit (20mg/kg) for 15 days has a beneficial effect on decreasing total cholesterol, triglycerides levels, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in both normal and severe hyperglycemic (diabetic) patient (16). Moreover, caraway reduced lipid levels more, effectively than simvastatin (drug) due to the presence of flavonoids and carvone in caraway (17).

9. Manage diabetes by decreasing blood glucose level

Oral administration of caraway caused a significant decrease in blood glucose levels and alleviates their body weight loss (18). Furthermore, caraway contains Quercetin (flavonoids) and Carvone which has strong antioxidant activity, which provides kidney-protection against diabetes and its complications (19).

10. Treat seizures and epilepsy

The presence of many bioactive compounds in caraway extract (alkaloid and terpenoids) and its essential oil (limonene, linalool, and carvacrol) are responsible for delaying myoclonic and clonic seizures. Thus possess anticonvulsant properties and useful for the treatment of seizure in humans (20).

11. Diuretic Properties of caraway fruit

Caraway fruit increase urine flow rate and urine volume thus protect the kidney from injury (21).

12. Antimicrobial properties

Caraway essential oil fight against different microorganisms Salmonella enteritidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Aspergillus niger thus extend the microbiological stability of minimally processed foods (22).

13. Treat infertility

Caraway fruit helps to increase the ovary weight, uterus weight, estrogen level, and reduced progesterone and gonadotropin levels thus treat infertility (23).

Side effects of Caraway

Caraway is “generally recognized as safe” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is usually well-tolerated, with the primary side effects being gastrointestinal such as heartburn, eructation, flatulence, and nausea.

Side effects of caraway oil

Administration of caraway oil did not show any toxicity and found to be safe at all selected dose levels in the repeated dose toxicity with some precaution like application of caraway oil on broken skin, around the eyes or mucous membranes and in the patients with liver disease, achlorhydria, cholangitis, gallstones or other biliary disorders is not recommended (24).

Edited By: Dr. Asha Jyoti Bharati