Nigella Explained

Nigella is a genus of about 25 species of annual or biennial plants in the family Ranunculaceae, native to Macaronesia, southern and central Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia.[1] [2] Common names applied to members of this genus are nigella, devil-in-a-bush or love-in-a-mist.

The species grow to tall, with finely divided leaves; the leaf segments are narrowly linear to threadlike. The flowers are white, yellow, pink, pale blue or pale purple, with five to ten petals. The fruit is a capsule composed of several united follicles, each containing numerous seeds; in some species (e.g. Nigella damascena), the capsule is large and inflated.

Uses

Culinary

The seeds of Nigella sativa, known as kalonji, black cumin, black caraway, black coriander, roman coriander, black onion seed, onion seed, charnushka, git (in historical Roman cuisine),[3] or just nigella, are used as a spice and a condiment in South Asian, Ethiopian, Middle Eastern and Polish cuisines.[4]

Garden flowers

Several species are grown as ornamental plants in gardens. Nigella damascena has been grown in English cottage gardens since the Elizabethan era, commonly called love-in-a-mist. Nigella hispanica is a taller species with larger blue flowers, red stamens, and grey leaves. Nigella seeds are self-sowing if the seed pods are left to mature.

The dried seed capsules can also be used in flower arrangements.

Use in traditional medicine

In traditional medicine, the seeds are used as a carminative and stimulant to ease bowel and indigestion problems, and are given to treat intestinal worms, nerve defects, to reduce flatulence, and induce sweating. Dried pods are sniffed to restore a lost sense of smell. It is also used to repel some insects, much like mothballs.

Numerous studies have shown that it has anti-inflammatory,[5] anti-oxidative,[6] anti-mycotic, antibacterial,[7] [8] [9] anti-fungal, anti-cancer,[10] [11] [12] [13] [14] anti-viral, antihistamine properties, possessing many properties that make it a potential remedy against certain diseases.[15]

Black cumin is used by naturopaths. Black cumin oil and powder are sold to people suffering from pathologies such as skin diseases, muscle pain, eczema or psoriasis,[16] but also acne,[17] diabetes, and asthma,[18]

Notes and References

  1. 33199-1 . Nigella L. . 12 November 2025 .
  2. Web site: Nigella . The Plant List . 27 April 2020 .
  3. Web site: Baking with the Romans--The Key Ingredient: Git . Monaco . Farrel . 17 August 2019.
  4. Book: 10.1533/9781855738355.2.206 . Nigella . Handbook of Herbs and Spices . 2004 . Malhotra . S.K. . 206–214 . 978-1-85573-721-1 . Peter . K. V. . https://books.google.com/books?id=VRWkAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA206 .
  5. Khader . Mohannad . Eckl . Peter M. . Thymoquinone: an emerging natural drug with a wide range of medical applications . Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences . December 2014 . 17 . 12 . 950–957 . 25859298 . 4387230 .
  6. Entok . Emre . Ustuner . Mehmet Cengiz . Ozbayer . Cansu . Tekin . Neslihan . Akyuz . Fahrettin . Yangi . Berat . Kurt . Hulyam . Degirmenci . Irfan . Gunes . Hasan Veysi . Anti-inflammatuar and anti-oxidative effects of Nigella sativa L.: 18FDG-PET imaging of inflammation . Molecular Biology Reports . May 2014 . 41 . 5 . 2827–2834 . 10.1007/s11033-014-3137-2 . 24474661 . 254840880 .
  7. Bakathir . Hussein Ahmed . Abbas . Nageeb Ahmed . Detection of the antibacterial effect of Nigella sativa ground seeds with water . African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines . 2011 . 8 . 2 . 159–164 . 10.4314/ajtcam.v8i2.63203 . 22238497 . 3252685 .
  8. Chaieb . Kamel . Kouidhi . Bochra . Jrah . Hanene . Mahdouani . Kacem . Bakhrouf . Amina . Antibacterial activity of Thymoquinone, an active principle of Nigella sativa and its potency to prevent bacterial biofilm formation . BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine . 13 April 2011 . 11 . 29 . 10.1186/1472-6882-11-29 . 21489272 . 3095572 . free .
  9. Kokoska . L. . Havlik . J. . Valterova . I. . Sovova . H. . Sajfrtova . M. . Jankovska . I. . Comparison of Chemical Composition and Antibacterial Activity of Nigella sativa Seed Essential Oils Obtained by Different Extraction Methods . Journal of Food Protection . December 2008 . 71 . 12 . 2475–2480 . 10.4315/0362-028x-71.12.2475 . 19244901 . free .
  10. Majdalawieh . Amin F. . Hmaidan . Reem . Carr . Ronald I. . Nigella sativa modulates splenocyte proliferation, Th1/Th2 cytokine profile, macrophage function and NK anti-tumor activity . Journal of Ethnopharmacology . 15 September 2010 . 131 . 2 . 268–275 . 10.1016/j.jep.2010.06.030 . 20600757 .
  11. Cikman . Oztekin . Ozkan . Adile . Aras . Adem Bozkurt . Soylemez . Omer . Alkis . Hilal . Taysi . Seyithan . Karaayvaz . Muammer . Radioprotective effects of Nigella sativa oil against oxidative stress in liver tissue of rats exposed to total head irradiation . Journal of Investigative Surgery . October 2014 . 27 . 5 . 262–266 . 10.3109/08941939.2014.898811 . 24679182 . 23302168 .
  12. Aikemu . Ainiwaer . Xiaerfuding . Xiadiya . Shiwenhui . Chengyufeng . Abudureyimu . Meiliwan . Maimaitiyiming . Dilinuer . Immunomodulatory and anti-tumor effects of Nigella glandulifera Freyn and Sint. seeds on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in mouse model . Pharmacognosy Magazine . July 2013 . 9 . 35 . 187–191 . 10.4103/0973-1296.113258 . 23929999 . 3732418 . free .
  13. Arafa . El-Shaimaa A. . Zhu . Qianzheng . Shah . Zubair I. . Wani . Gulzar . Barakat . Bassant M. . Racoma . Ira . El-Mahdy . Mohamed A. . Wani . Altaf A. . Thymoquinone up-regulates PTEN expression and induces apoptosis in doxorubicin-resistant human breast cancer cells . Mutation Research . 10 January 2011 . 706 . 1–2 . 28–35 . 10.1016/j.mrfmmm.2010.10.007 . 21040738 . 3037029 . 2011MRFMM.706...28A .
  14. El-Mahdy . Mohamed A. . Zhu . Qianzheng . Wang . Qi-En . Wani . Gulzar . Wani . Altaf A. . Thymoquinone induces apoptosis through activation of caspase-8 and mitochondrial events in p53-null myeloblastic leukemia HL-60 cells . International Journal of Cancer . 10 November 2005 . 117 . 3 . 409–417 . 10.1002/ijc.21205 . 15906362 . 35725411 . free .
  15. Yimer . Ebrahim M. . Tuem . Kald Beshir . Karim . Aman . Ur-Rehman . Najeeb . Anwar . Farooq . Nigella sativa L. (Black Cumin): A Promising Natural Remedy for Wide Range of Illnesses . Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine . 12 May 2019 . 2019 . 1528635 . 10.1155/2019/1528635 . 31214267 . 6535880 . free .
  16. Eid . Ahmad M. . Elmarzugi . Nagib A. . Abu Ayyash . Laila M. . Sawafta . Maher N. . Daana . Hadeel I. . A Review on the Cosmeceutical and External Applications of Nigella sativa . Journal of Tropical Medicine . 2017 . 2017 . 7092514 . 10.1155/2017/7092514 . 29358959 . 5735686 . free .
  17. Naseer A. . Hadi . Ammar Waham . Ashor . Nigella sativa oil lotion 20% vs. benzoyl peroxide lotion 5% in the treatment of mild to moderate acne vulgaris . Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal . 2010 . 9 . 4 . 371–376 .
  18. Koshak . Abdulrahman . Wei . Li . Koshak . Emad . Wali . Siraj . Alamoudi . Omer . Demerdash . Abdulrahman . Qutub . Majdy . Pushparaj . Peter Natesan . Heinrich . Michael . Nigella sativa Supplementation Improves Asthma Control and Biomarkers: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial . Phytotherapy Research . March 2017 . 31 . 3 . 403–409 . 10.1002/ptr.5761 . 28093815 . 25341730 . subscription .

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