Nigella sativa

''Nigella sativa'' (black caraway, also known as black cumin, nigella, kalonji or siyahdaneh) is an annual flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to eastern Europe (Bulgaria and Romania) and Western Asia (Cyprus, Turkey, Iran and Iraq), but naturalized over a much wider area, including parts of Europe, northern Africa and east to Myanmar.

Etymology

The genus name ''Nigella'' is a diminutive of the Latin 'black', referring to the seed color. p. 341. The specific epithet ''sativa'' means 'cultivated'.

In English, ''N. sativa'' and its seed are variously called black caraway, black seed, black cumin, fennel flower, nigella, nutmeg flower, Roman coriander, and ''kalonji''.

Blackseed and black caraway may also refer to '' Bunium persicum''.

Description

''N. sativa'' grows to tall, with finely divided, linear (but not thread-like) leaves. The flowers are delicate, and usually coloured pale blue and white, with five to ten petals. The fruit is a large and inflated capsule composed of three to seven united follicles, each containing numerous seeds which are used as spice, sometimes as a replacement for black cumin ('' Bunium bulbocastanum'').

File:Nigella sativa MHNT.BOT.2015.34.22.jpg, ''Nigella sativa''
File:Black cumin seed.png, Seed
File:Nigella Sativa Seed.jpg, ''N. sativa'' seeds
File:家黑種草_Nigella_sativa_-牛津大學植物園_Oxford_Botanic_Garden-_(9200912024).jpg, The flowers can be blue or white

Culinary uses

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration classifies ''Nigella sativa'' L. (black cumin, black caraway) as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) for use as a spice, natural seasoning, or flavouring. The seeds of ''N. sativa'' are used as a spice in many cuisines. In Palestine, the seeds are ground to make bitter qizha paste.

The dry-roasted seeds flavour curries, vegetables, and pulses. They can be used as a seasoning in recipes with pod fruit, vegetables, salads, and poultry. In some cultures, the black seeds are used to flavour bread products, and are used as part of the spice mixture ''panch phoron'' (meaning a mixture of five spices) and alone in many recipes in Bengali cuisine and most recognizably in ''naan''. ''Nigella'' is also used in tresse cheese, a braided string cheese called ''majdouleh'' or ''majdouli'' in the Middle East.

History

Archaeological evidence about the earliest cultivation of ''N. sativa'' dates back three millennia, with ''N. sativa'' seeds found in several sites from ancient Egypt, including Tutankhamun's tomb. Seeds were found in a Hittite flask in Turkey from the second millennium BC.

''N. sativa'' may have been used as a condiment of the Old World to flavour food. The Muslim Persian physician Avicenna in his ''Canon of Medicine'' described ''N. sativa'' as a treatment for dyspnea. ''N. sativa'' was used in the Middle East as a traditional medicine.

Chemistry

Oils are 32% to 40% of the total composition of ''N. sativa'' seeds. ''N. sativa'' oil contains linoleic acid, oleic acid, palmitic acid, and ''trans''- anethole, and other minor constituents, such as nigellicine, nigellidine, nigellimine, and nigellimine N-oxide. Aromatics include thymoquinone, dihydrothymoquinone, ''p''-cymene, carvacrol, α-thujene, thymol, α-pinene, β-pinene and ''trans''- anethole. Protein and various alkaloids are present in the seeds.

Research

One meta-analysis of clinical trials found weak evidence that ''N. sativa'' has a short-term benefit on lowering systolic and diastolic blood pressure, with limited evidence that various extracts of black seed can reduce triglycerides and LDL and total cholesterol, while raising HDL cholesterol. Despite considerable use of ''N. sativa'' in traditional medicine practices in Africa and Asia, there is insufficient high-quality clinical evidence to indicate that consuming the seeds or oil provides any benefit to human health.

See also

* Nigella damascena, also known as love-in-a-mist

References

External links

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sativa
Medicinal plants
Spices
Herbs
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus