Caraway
In short
Summary of findings for quick reference
Caraway connects culinary tradition with household herbal medicine. Apicius names it in Roman recipes, the Capitulare de villis lists it among plants for royal gardens, and Culpeper describes its fruits for wind. These sources document different kinds of use rather than proving that every tradition recorded here independently used it for the same medicinal purpose.
The more informative clinical studies concern peppermint-caraway oil capsules for functional dyspepsia. Madisch and colleagues used cisapride as the comparator in 1999; May and colleagues tested the combination against placebo in 2000. These are not trials of caraway tea or evidence of a general IBS effect. Likewise, effects of familiar fennel-anise-caraway tea blends cannot automatically be attributed to caraway alone.
The EMA recognises caraway fruit as a traditional medicinal tea for bloating and flatulence, with medicinal use from age 12. Adequate safety data are lacking for pregnancy and breastfeeding. This does not assess ordinary amounts used as seasoning. Concentrated caraway oil and peppermint-caraway capsules require separate assessment. Allergies to Apiaceae plants and liver or biliary disorders require attention to contraindications and warnings.
Clinical evidence ↔ Historical significanceWe display two separate evidence categories: clinical evidence from modern trials and historical significance from documented healing tradition. Both are valuable, but they answer different questions.Read more
In every encyclopedia entry we evaluate two distinct categories of evidence. Clinical evidence as used in trials meets a narrower but scientifically essential bar. At the same time, the hundreds of thousands of plant species worldwide have only partially been captured and tested in modern studies.
Alongside the trial picture our researchers compile a comprehensive overview of where and since when a plant has been used across different traditions of natural medicine. When a plant has been used as a medicinal plant in many cultures across many generations, that historical significance deserves to be visible too.
Our position: a truly informative overview emerges only when both categories sit side by side. We communicate transparently what counts as what.
Overview
Caraway (Carum carvi) is a usually biennial member of the Apiaceae family, with finely divided leaves and white to pale pink compound umbels. Its aromatic, longitudinally ribbed fruits are commonly called caraway seeds. Carvone and limonene are the main constituents of the essential oil. The European Medicines Agency recognises caraway fruit as a traditional medicinal tea for digestive symptoms such as bloating and flatulence. This classification rests on long-standing use, rather than well-established clinical efficacy.
In Austria, caraway is familiar in rye and caraway bread, sauerkraut, potato dishes, goulash and roast pork. Fennel-anise-caraway tea is also a well-known blend. Its culinary and household-remedy traditions are closely connected, but a pinch in food cannot be assumed to have the same effect as medicinal tea or a standardised oil capsule.
History
Caraway has a long European culinary and medicinal history. In the Roman Apicius recipe corpus, careum appears as a seasoning; a version of the digestive sauce Oxygarum contains carei, rendered as caraway in the modern translation. Ancient plant names cannot always be assigned securely to modern species. The Roman recipes show how closely seasoning and ideas about digestibility were connected.
The Capitulare de villis, dating from around 800, lists careium among plants to be cultivated on royal estates. It orders cultivation without specifying a digestive indication. Later herbals explicitly associate caraway with digestive complaints: Culpeper describes its fruits as a remedy for wind. It remains familiar in Austrian bread, sauerkraut, cabbage pasta, potato goulash and roast pork. The current EMA monograph recognises the medicinal tea’s traditional use for bloating and flatulence.
Mechanism
Carvone and limonene account for most of caraway essential oil, with carvone typically around 50 to 65 percent depending on oil quality. Laboratory and animal studies of different caraway preparations describe effects on gastrointestinal smooth muscle, among other findings. These may explain possible mechanisms but do not establish how effectively caraway tea or a culinary amount relieves symptoms in humans.
Peppermint-caraway oil capsules have also been studied for their effects on stomach and duodenal motility, including a small study in six healthy volunteers. Enteric coating delays release of the oils until they reach the intestine. Clinical findings in functional dyspepsia apply to the combined preparation and do not isolate each oil’s contribution or establish separate upper and lower zones of action.
The better-studied clinical preparation is a fixed peppermint-caraway oil combination. In 1999 Madisch and colleagues compared it with cisapride, rather than placebo, in functional dyspepsia. In the placebo-controlled study by May, Köhler and Schneider in 2000, 96 patients received one capsule containing 90 mg peppermint oil and 50 mg caraway oil, or placebo, twice daily for four weeks. Pain, pressure and fullness, and physician-rated global improvement favoured the combination. These findings apply to the tested combination, not caraway alone or IBS in general.
Clinical evidence is much more limited for caraway tea and caraway as a culinary spice. The EMA bases medicinal tea use on long-standing experience, and classifies caraway oil alone as a traditional herbal medicine in a separate monograph. Peppermint-caraway combination trials do not establish efficacy for the individual ingredient or a pinch in food.
Evidence
| Outcome | Class | Grade | Effect | Studies | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloating and flatulence (caraway fruit)The EMA recognises caraway fruit as a traditional medicinal tea for digestive symptoms such as bloating and flatulence. This rests on long-standing use rather than well-established clinical efficacy. Peppermint-caraway oil combination trials require separate assessment.Adults and adolescents aged 12 and over with mild digestive symptoms | TraditionalTraditional use. Long-standing folk practice or EMA HMPC traditional-use monograph. | DEvidence quality grade D. Preliminary signal. A single small trial, pilot result, or laboratory or animal model. Clinical relevance unclear. This is an evidence rating, not a product endorsement. | Traditional use | [4] | |
| Functional dyspepsia (peppermint-caraway oil combination)Trials of the fixed oil combination report improvement in dyspeptic symptoms. In 2000 May and colleagues found greater improvements in pain, pressure and fullness than with placebo after four weeks. Madisch and colleagues compared the combination with cisapride in 1999. Results apply to the combination, not caraway alone, and do not establish general efficacy in IBS.Adults with functional dyspepsia | ClinicalClinically established. Randomised controlled trials or meta-analyses confirm the effect in humans. | BEvidence quality grade B. Good evidence but fewer or mid-sized trials. Effect plausible, not conclusively confirmed. This is an evidence rating, not a product endorsement. | Modest Improvement | [1][2][6] | |
| Traditional medicinal tea for bloating and flatulenceCaraway fruit tea is classified as a traditional herbal medicine in the EMA monograph. Long-standing use underpins this classification; robust clinical tea trials are lacking. The stronger evidence for specific peppermint-caraway oil capsules cannot be transferred to the infusion.Adults with bloating after heavy meals | TraditionalTraditional use. Long-standing folk practice or EMA HMPC traditional-use monograph. | DEvidence quality grade D. Preliminary signal. A single small trial, pilot result, or laboratory or animal model. Clinical relevance unclear. This is an evidence rating, not a product endorsement. | Traditional Use | [4] | |
| Caraway as a traditional digestive spiceCaraway is traditionally used in sauerkraut, bread, potato dishes, goulash and roast pork. Its reputation as a digestive spice is well established culturally. This tradition and the EMA medicinal-tea monograph do not establish clinical symptom relief from an ordinary culinary amount.Adults consuming heavy or fermented Central European dishes | TraditionalTraditional use. Long-standing folk practice or EMA HMPC traditional-use monograph. | DEvidence quality grade D. Preliminary signal. A single small trial, pilot result, or laboratory or animal model. Clinical relevance unclear. This is an evidence rating, not a product endorsement. | Traditional Use | [4] |
Usage
Forms and preparation
For medicinal tea from age 12, weigh 0.5 to 2 grams of caraway fruit and lightly crush it in a mortar. Add 150 millilitres of boiling water, cover and steep according to the pack instructions, usually around ten minutes, then strain. Crushing releases the aromatic oils; covering reduces their loss with the steam. In cooking, use caraway whole or ground in dishes such as cabbage, sauerkraut, potatoes, rye bread, roast pork and goulash. The amount depends on the recipe and your taste. A pinch in food is not equivalent to medicinal tea or an oil capsule. Take enteric-coated peppermint-caraway capsules according to the leaflet without opening or chewing them.
Dosage
For adults and adolescents aged 12 and over, the EMA gives a single dose of 0.5 to 2 grams of caraway fruit in 150 millilitres of boiling water, as tea one to three times daily. Weighed amounts are more reliable than teaspoons, which vary considerably. Seek medical advice if symptoms persist beyond two weeks or worsen. Culinary use follows the recipe and is not a medicinal dose. For Carmenthin, the manufacturer specifies one capsule twice daily from age 12, swallowed whole with sufficient water at least 30 minutes before a meal. Other products may have different doses, so follow their own leaflets. The four-week duration of many trials is not a universal treatment schedule. Do not swallow concentrated caraway oil neat. The product information recommends medical advice if symptoms last longer than one week or recur.
Safety
Look-alikes
Similar plants and look-alikes
Water hemlock (Cicuta virosa)
Water hemlock (Cicuta virosa) is highly poisonous and grows in wet places such as watercourses and reed beds. All parts are poisonous, especially the rootstock, which can smell of celery. Smell and habitat alone therefore do not provide reliable identification. If you cannot identify an Apiaceae plant with certainty, leave it and use commercially supplied caraway.
Cumin (Cuminum cyminum)
Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) also belongs to the Apiaceae family but is a different species. Its earthier aroma differs markedly from caraway. Substituting one spice for the other changes a recipe’s flavour, and their uses and medicinal evidence should be considered separately.
FAQs
Why does caraway belong in sauerkraut and goulash?
Caraway gives cabbage, sauerkraut, potatoes and goulash its characteristic flavour and has traditionally been regarded as a digestive spice. The EMA recognises medicinal caraway fruit tea on the basis of long-standing use, not the therapeutic effect of a pinch in food. Flavour, household tradition and clinical evidence should therefore be distinguished.
What is Carmenthin and what does the peppermint-caraway combination mean?
Each enteric-coated Carmenthin capsule contains 90 mg peppermint oil and 50 mg caraway oil. Clinical trials of this combination primarily concern functional dyspepsia, recurrent upper-abdominal symptoms without an explanatory organic cause. Outcomes included pain and fullness. Findings cannot be attributed to caraway alone. Follow the relevant package leaflet for age limits, dosage and contraindications.
Is caraway the same as cumin?
No. Caraway (Carum carvi) and cumin (Cuminum cyminum) both belong to the Apiaceae family but are distinct species. Caraway has a spicy, slightly sweet flavour familiar in many Austrian dishes. Cumin has an earthier aroma and is common in North African, Middle Eastern and Indian recipes. Substitution changes the flavour, and medicinal claims for the species should be considered separately.
Can babies have caraway tea?
Give a baby caraway tea for symptoms only after consulting a paediatrician. Household tradition does not provide a reliably tested infant dose. The EMA recommends caraway fruit medicinal tea from age 12 because adequate data are lacking for younger children. Carmenthin is also not intended for children under 12. Do not give a baby concentrated caraway oil by mouth.
6 sources.
- May B, Köhler S, Schneider B. Efficacy and tolerability of a fixed combination of peppermint oil and caraway oil in patients suffering from functional dyspepsia. 2000. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2036.2000.00873.x
- Madisch A, Heydenreich CJ, Wieland V, Hufnagel R, Hotz J. Treatment of functional dyspepsia with a fixed peppermint oil and caraway oil combination preparation as compared to cisapride. A multicenter, reference-controlled double-blind equivalence study. 1999. doi:10.1055/s-0031-1300528
- Micklefield GH, Greving I, May B. Effects of peppermint oil and caraway oil on gastroduodenal motility. 2000. PMID:10641042
- European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. European Union herbal monograph on Carum carvi L., fructus. 2015. Source
- European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. Carvi aetheroleum: herbal medicinal product assessment overview. 2015. Source
- Rich G, Shah A, Koloski N, Funk P, Stracke B, Köhler S, Holtmann G. A randomized placebo-controlled trial on the effects of Menthacarin, a proprietary peppermint- and caraway-oil-preparation, on symptoms and quality of life in patients with functional dyspepsia. 2017. doi:10.1111/nmo.13132
Legal notice: The depiction of historical significance and traditional use is context within our encyclopedia and not a health claim for any product, not a treatment promise, and not a substitute for medical advice. What may be stated on product labels, product pages, or in advertising is governed by the applicable legal requirements.