Occurrence of trypsin-like protease in fresh cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton) seeds, as evidenced by the benzoyl-arg-p-nitroanilide (BApNA) hydrolyzing ability of the seed enzyme preparation under alkaline condition is reported for the first time. The enzyme has a pH and temperature optima as 8 and 45 degrees C, respectively. It is inhibited by aprotinin and phenylmethyl sulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting the presence of serine residues at the active site. The enzyme had a V(max) of 98.01 nmoles p-nitroaniline released per min per mg protein and K(m) of 0.0684 mM with BApNA as substrate. Addition of aprotinin (75.75 microM) increased K(m) value by three-folds, whereas the V(max) was reduced by 23%.