Black cumin

Nigella black cumin) has been used medicinally for thousands of years, and modern research shows that it supports cardiovascular, immune and digestive function.

- DR KAREN BRIDGMAN

Nigella sativa is a powerful medicinal plant that is native to Bulgaria and Romania in Eastern Europe and Cyprus, Turkey, Iran and Iraq in Western Asia. The name refers to the Latin niger, meaning black from the seed colour, and it has been called by many names such as black cumin, black caraway, nigella, Roman coriander, black seed and fennel flower among others.

The plant itself is an annual flowering plant growing to 30cm, with finely divided leaves and blue or white delicate flowers. The earliest records of nigella cultivation date back three millennia, where the seeds have been found in various sites in ancient Egypt, including in Tutankhamun's tomb and a Hittite flask in ancient Turkey. The Persian physician Avicenna prescribed nigella seeds to treat digestive and respiratory symptoms in his ancient text The Canon of Medicine. Nigella seeds have been a major remedy in many ancient systems of medicine including Ayurveda, Persian, Unani, Chinese and Arabic medicines.

Active ingredients Thirty to 40 per cent of the seeds comprise an essential oil containing linoleic, oleic and palmitic acids and anethole, along with aromatics such as thymoquinone la major therapeutic ingredient), carvacrol, thujene, thymol and pinene. Proteins and alkaloids are also present in the seeds.

Therapeutic uses

Overall, the seeds are a potent medicine with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic, antipyretic, antimicrobial, antiviral, antiparasitic, hypoglycaemic and antineoplastic properties. The seed oil decreases blood pressure and increases respiration.

Cardiovascular