Cardamom, belonging to the family of Zingiberaceae, is obtained from the seeds of Elettaria cardamomum Maton and it is mostly cultivated in southern India, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Guatemala. The genus consists of about six species. Only E. cardamomum Maton occurs in India and this is the only economically important species. It is highly valued from ancient times, because of its very pleasant aroma and taste and it referred as the 'Queen of Spices'.