''Guizotia abyssinica'' is an erect, stout, branched annual herb, grown for its edible oil and seed. Its cultivation originated in the

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

n and

Ethiopian highlands The Ethiopian Highlands (also called the Abyssinian Highlands) is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below , whil ...

, and has spread to other parts of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. Common names include noog/nug ( Ethio-Semitic and Eritrean ኑግ ''nūg'' or ኒህዩግ ''nihyug''); ramtil or ramtilla; niger or nyger seed (all pronounced ); inga seed; and blackseed. Noug has been described as semi-domesticated, self-incompatible crop with yellow flowering heads and seeds. Recent studies have revealed the regional genetic diversity of some noug populations grown in Ethiopia based on RAPD and AFLP markers.

Seed

Native to

and

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

, niger seeds are also grown in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Niger seeds resemble sunflower seeds in shape, but are smaller in size and black. It bears a fairly thick, adherent seed coat and can be stored for up to a year without deterioration. Niger seed contains

proteins Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, re ...

, oil and soluble

sugars Sugar is the generic name for Sweetness, sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides ...

. Niger seeds are used as bird feed worldwide. Commercial niger seed is grown in Africa, India and other areas of southeast Asia, and the seed is imported around the world as a popular type of birdseed. Before it is imported, however, niger seed is sterilized by intense heat to prevent germination of any additional seeds that may be part of the mix. Treated niger seed may germinate but would typically be stunted, limiting its spread and offering less of a threat to native plants.

Basic nutritional components of niger seeds

Cultivation

Requiring moderate rainfall between annually, niger seed needs moist soil to grow properly. Niger should be grown in light black soils or brownish loam with sufficient depth but it also can be grown on well drained heavy soils or rocky

laterite Laterite is a soil type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by intensive and prolo ...

soils. It can grow in semi-shade or full sun. The yield of seeds will average under favorable conditions but can produce up to . It gives a dependable yield even under unfavorable climatic conditions.SEA Hand Book-2009 by Solvent Extractors' Association Of India The seed, technically a fruit called an

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple fruit, simple dry fruits, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and Dehi ...

, is often sold as birdseed as it is a favourite of finches, especially the goldfinch and the greenfinch (''Chloris''). In the birdseed market, niger is often sold or referred to as thistle seed. This is a misnomer resulting from early marketing of the seed as "thistle" to take advantage of the finches' preference for thistle. The Wild Bird Feeding Industry (WBFI) has trademarked the name Nyjer "... to eliminate product confusion and the offensive mispronunciation of Niger as well as to promote a positive image for the use of 'Guizotia abyssinica' as a wild bird feed." Guizotiaabyssinica

In 1982, the USDA ordered that imported niger seed must be heat sterilized to kill the contaminant

dodder ''Cuscuta'' (), commonly known as dodder or amarbel, is a genus of over 201 species of yellow, orange, or red (rarely green) parasitic plants. Formerly treated as the only genus in the family Cuscutaceae, it now is accepted as belonging in the ...

seed. This treatment, however, was insufficient to kill seeds of other Federal noxious weeds, including '' Asphodelus fistulosus'' (onion weed), '' Digitaria'' spp. (includes African couchgrass), ''

Oryza ''Oryza'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. It includes the major food crop rice (species '' Oryza sativa'' and '' Oryza glaberrima''). Members of the genus grow as tall, wetland grasses, growing to tall; the genus includes both annua ...

'' spp. (red rice), ''

Paspalum scrobiculatum ''Paspalum scrobiculatum'', commonly called kodo millet or koda millet,A. E. Grant (1898), "Poisonous Koda millet". Letter to ''Nature'', volume 57, page 271.Harry Nelson Vinall(1917), ''Foxtail Millet: Its Culture and Utilization in the United S ...

'' (kodo millet), '' Prosopis'' spp. (includes mesquites), '' Solanum viarum'' (tropical soda apple), ''

Striga ''Striga'', commonly known as witchweed, is a genus of parasitic plants that occur naturally in parts of Africa, Asia, and Australia. It is currently classified in the family Orobanchaceae, although older classifications place it in the Scrophul ...

'' spp. (witchweed), and '' Urochloa panicoides'' (liver-seed grass). In 2001 a new treatment required that imported niger seed must be heat treated at for 15 minutes. In 2002, the 'EarlyBird' variety of ''Guizotia abyssinica'' with a crop maturity of 65 days was developed and adapted to grow in the United States. The 'EarlyBird' variety of ''Guizotia abyssinica'' is protected by U.S.D.A. Plant Variety Protection Certificate Numbe
9900412
A second variety of ''Guizotia abyssinica'' submitted to the U.S.D.A. for Plant Variety Protection (Application Numbe
200500140
called 'Earlybird 50' has a crop maturity of 50 days and is a shorter, more dense plant with a higher yield and is less susceptible to lodging than the 'EarlyBird' variety. Both varieties have short enough maturities to make production feasible in many U.S. growing regions. ''Guizotia abyssinica'' is not a Federal noxious weed and is now in commercial agricultural production in the United States often grown as a first or second crop before or after

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

soybeans The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source of f ...

, and

cucurbits The Cucurbitaceae (), also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in 101 genera.

. Niger is self-sterile and requires bees for cross pollination.

Oil

Niger seed yields about 30–35% of its weight in oil which is clear, slow-drying, and edible. Niger seed oil is a polyunsaturated semi-drying oil. It has a pale yellow or orange color with a nutty taste and sweet odor. The raw oil has a low acidity and can be used directly for cooking. Normally, it has a poor shelf life and will become rancid when stored for a long period. Its fatty acid composition is similar to sunflower oil and has high content of

linoleic acid Linoleic acid (LA) is an organic compound with the formula . Both alkene groups () are ''cis''. It is a fatty acid sometimes denoted 18:2 (n−6) or 18:2 ''cis''-9,12. A linoleate is a salt or ester of this acid. Linoleic acid is a polyunsat ...

. It is used as a substitute for

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

and can be mixed with

linseed oil Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil or flax oil (in its edible form), is a colorless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant (''Linum usitatissimum''). The oil is obtained by pressing, sometimes followed by ...

. The presence of linoleic acid varies from 45.0 to 65.0% depending on harvested soil conditions and seed variety. The physical character of oil and its fatty acid composition is furnished in the following tables. Physical characteristics of oil Fatty acid composition of niger seed oil

Culinary and medicinal uses

Niger seeds are used for human consumption in the southern parts of India. In

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

and

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, niger seeds (called ''valisalu''/''valasulu'' in Telugu, ''uchellu''/''gurellu'' in

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

, and ''karale'' in Marathi) are used to make a dry

chutney A chutney () is a spread typically associated with cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt, or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion ...

, which is used as an accompaniment with breads such as chapati. They are also used as a spice in some curries. In Ethiopia, an infusion made from roasted and ground niger seeds, sugar and water is used in treating common colds.

Other uses

A paste or gruel made from slightly roasted and ground niger seed, mixed with roasted and ground

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...

seeds (Amharic: ''telbah'') and hot water, is traditionally used in Ethiopia in treating leather. The seed's oil is widely used for industrial purposes such as

soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

making,

paints Paint is a material or mixture that, when applied to a solid material and allowed to dry, adds a film-like layer. As art, this is used to create an image or images known as a painting. Paint can be made in many colors and types. Most paints are ...

preparations and preparation of different types of emulsions. The seed is used as bird food. As the seeds are so small, specialized bird feeders are manufactured for niger seed. In the United Kingdom the seeds attract finches and siskins. Niger oil cake, which consists of the residues obtained after processing of the seeds to make oil, is rich in protein and is used to feed livestock, particularly in Ethiopia. Due to it's concentration of

caffeic acid Caffeic acid is an organic compound with the formula . It is a polyphenol with a key role in scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated in energy metabolism. Caffeic acid is also one major polyphenol responsible for maintaining normal le ...

and other phenolic compounds, the seed extract of Guizotia abyssinica can be incorporated into culture media to be used in differentiang colonies of Cryptococcus sp. from other

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

colonies, given that the former will produce melanic pigments and be darker colored, and the latter won't. Strachan AA, Yu RJ, Blank F. (1971). Pigment Production of Cryptococcus neoformans Grown with Extracts of Guizotia abyssinica. Applied Microbiology, 22(3):478–479.

References

External links

*
James A. Duke. 1983. Handbook of Energy Crops (unpublished)

Plants for a Future database
* {{Authority control Millerieae Flora of Ethiopia Bird food plants Edible nuts and seeds Ethiopian cuisine Crops originating from Ethiopia Plants described in 1782