Nigella (Nigella sativa): a high value seed spice with immense medicinal potential

Abstract

Nigella sativa L., a common herbaceous seed spice of India and Middle East, was identified by many researchers to have a spectrum of pharmacological and nutraceutical potentials. The seeds of nigella and its oil were widely used for centuries in the treatment of various ailments throughout the world. It is an important drug in the Indian traditional system of medicine. It is established that most of the potential and fruitful activities are inbuilt in its volatile oil and protein components. Most of the therapeutic properties of this herb are due to the presence of thymoquinone and its isomers which are the major active chemical component of the essential oil. Nigella seeds are also used in food as flavouring, additive in the breads and pickles because it has very low level of toxicity. The significant content of fats, proteins and minerals in the seeds, makes nigella suitable to be investigated as a source of these nutrients. This review incorporates a deeper view into crop cultivation along with various quality parameters of N. sativa and its constituents responsible for its pharmaceutical and nutraceutical attributes.

Designing novel industrial and functional foods using the bioactive compounds from Nigella sativa L. (black cumin): Biochemical and biological prospects toward health implications

“…sativa is a historically and religiously important plant (Ahmad et al, 2021;Burdock, 2022;Sharma & Longvah, 2021;Wahab & Alsayari, 2023). Prophet Mohammed mentioned, The black seed can heal every disease, except death (Dubey et al, 2016). Al-Beruni and Ibn-e-Sina reported that N. sativa has several medicinal benefits.…”

The influence of different forms of black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) on the characteristics of sheep’s curd cheese

“…The N. sativa seed is black or dark brown and has a distinct angular or funnel shape, with a slightly bitter, nutty-peppery taste and a strong aroma (Tanwar and Goyal, 2021). Numerous studies have shown that the therapeutic properties of N. sativa are mainly due to thymoquinone, a major biologically active constituent of the essential oil, together with other high value components such as various alkaloids (nigellicine, nigellimine, and nigellidine), volatile oils (carvone, d-limonene, and cymene), fatty acids and higher terpenoids, phenolic acids and flavonoids, saponins, aliphatic alcohols, steroids, tannin, resin, protein, sugars, and vitamins A1, A2, B1, and B2 (Morikawa et al, 2004;Paarakh, 2010;Khader and Eckl, 2014;Dubey et al, 2016;Mukhtar et al, 2019;Burdock, 2022;Dalli et al, 2022). Most of these compounds disrupt the microorganisms cell membrane and inhibit cell division and the biofilm formation (Bhatti et al, 2022), being an attractive solution for the food industry in the fight against the microbial contamination (Friedlander et al, 2019).…”