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Ethnobotanical Review 13: 946-55, 2009. Medicinal
and Phamacological Potential of Nigella
sativa: A Review N. K. Sharma*, D. Ahirwar, D. Jhade and S. Gupta * Corresponding Author Issued
July 01, 2009 Abstract Herbs are vital source of drugs from the ancient time holding the scenario of the Indian system of medicine. Nigella sativa commonly known as karayal is an annual flowering plant, native to southwest Asia. Seeds and their oil have a long history of folklore usage in various systems of medicines and are used in food as well as medicine. The present paper enumerates the medicinal, pharmacological, traditional value and folk remedies of this herb, which may help the researchers to set their minds for approaching the utility, efficacy and potency of Nigella sativa. Key Words: Nigella sativum, Karayal, seeds, Pharmacological activities. Introduction N. sativa, known as kalonji, black cumin is used as a spice in Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine. The dry roasted seeds flavor curries, vegetables and pulses. The black seeds taste like oregano and have bitterness to them like mustard-seeds. It can be used as a "pepper" in recipes with pod fruit, vegetables, salads and poultry.
Nigella
sativa commonly known as karayal (English: Small Fennel, Black Cumin;
Sanskrit: Kalonji, Kalajira,
Kalajaji, Mugrela, Upakuncika) is an annual
flowering
plant, native to southwest Asia. The plant is
indigenous to the Mediterranean region but now found widely in Several species are grown as ornamental plants in gardens, popular for their seed capsules, which are used in dried flower arrangements. Karayal are used exclusively for dried arrangements. The flowers are the best to add texture to any dried flower arrangement. The delicate purple striped pods are used in several arrangements for an airy effect. Scientific Classification [3] Kingdom : Plantae Division : Magnoliophyta Order : Ranunculales Family : Ranunculaceae Genus : Nigella Species : sativa Morphology It is small prostrate annual herb about 45 cm high 2-3 slender leaves pinnatisect, 2-4 cm long cut into linear segment, segments oblong. Flowers pale, blue on solitary long peduncles, seeds trigonous and black in colour. The plant has a rather stiff, erect, branching stem, bears deeply-cut greyish-green leaves and terminal greyishblue flowers, followed by odd, toothed seed vessels, filled with small somewhat compressed seeds, usually three-cornered, with two sides flat and one convex, black or brown externally white and oleaginous, strong agreeable aromatic odour, like that of nutmegs, and a spicy, pungent taste. The flowers are delicate, and usually coloured pale blue and white, with 5–10 petals (Fig. 1). The fruit is a large and inflated capsule composed of 3–7 united follicles, each containing numerous seeds. It has a pungent bitter taste and a faint smell of strawberries [4, 5].
Fig 1. Nigella sativa (whole plant, Flower and seeds). History According to Zohary and Hopf, archeological evidence about the earliest cultivation of N. sativa "is still scanty", but they report that N. sativa seeds have been found in several sites from ancient Egypt, including Tutankhamun's tomb. Although its exact role in Egyptian culture is unknown, it is known that items entombed with a pharaoh were carefully selected to assist him in the after life [6]. Nigella
sativa has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries, both as a herb
and pressed into oil, in Asia, Middle East,
and Africa.
It has been traditionally used for a variety of conditions and treatments
related to respiratory health, stomach and intestinal health, kidney and
liver function, circulatory and immune system support, and for general
well-being. In Islam,
it is regarded as one of the greatest forms of healing medicine available.
The Islamic prophet Muhammad
once stated that the black seed can heal every disease except death. Avicenna,
most famous for his volumes called The Canon of Medicine, refers to Nigella as the
seed that stimulates the body's energy and helps recovery from fatigue and
dispiritedness. It is also included in the list of natural drugs of 'Tibb-e-Nabavi', or
"Medicine of the Prophet (Muhammad)", according to the tradition
"hold onto the use of the black seeds for healing all diseases. In the Unani
Tibb system of medicine, N. sativa is
regarded as a valuable remedy for a number of diseases. The seeds have been
traditionally used in the Middle East and Southeast
Asian countries to treat ailments including asthma,
bronchitis,
rheumatism
and related inflammatory diseases, to increase milk production in nursing
mothers, to promote digestion and to fight parasitic infections. Its oil has
been used to treat skin conditions such as eczema
and boils
and to treat cold symptoms. Its many uses have earned Nigella the
Arabic approbation 'Habbatul barakah',
meaning the seed of blessing.
[7, 8]. Karayal seeds and their oil have a long
history of folklore usage in Arabian and Indian civilisation
and are used in food as well as medicine. The seeds are used as flavouring, to improve digestion and produce warmth,
especially in cold climates. They are sometimes scattered in the folds of woollen fabrics to preserve them from insect damage[9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14]. In Traditional Uses Karayal seeds are used as a carminative, aromatic, stimulant, diuretic, anthelmintic, galactagogue and diaphoretic. They are used as a condiment in curries. A tincture prepared from the seeds is useful in indigestion, loss of appetite, diarrhoea, dropsy, amenorrhoea and dysmenorrhoea and in the treatment of worms and skin eruptions. Externally the oil is used as an antiseptic. To arrest vomiting, seeds are roasted and given internally. Chemical Composition [15, 16, 17, 18] Seeds contain numerous esters of structurally unusual unsaturated fatty acids with terpene alcohols (7%); furthermore, traces of alkaloids are found which belong to two different types: isochinoline alkaloids are represented by nigellimin and nigellimin-N-oxide, and pyrazol alkaloids include nigellidin and nigellicin.
Saturated fatty acids (palmitic, stearic acid) amount to about 30% or less. Also contain parts of the essential oil, mostly thymoquinone, by which it acquires an aromatic flavour. The seeds give on steam-distillation a yellowish brown volatile oil with an unpleasant odor. The oil contains carvone, d -limonene, and a carbonyl compound, nigellone. Pharmacology [19, 20,] 1. Antimicrobial activity: Nigella sativa exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and others. The essential oil has been shown to have activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. However, sensitivity against Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Vibrio cholerae was found to be stronger. Bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus, S. pyogenes and S. viridans are more susceptible to Nigella sativa. In an in-vitro study, volatile oil showed activity comparable to ampicillin. The activity of the volatile oil also extended to drug-resistant strains of Shigella spp, Vibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli and was found to have a synergistic action with streptomycin and gentamycin.
5. Antifertility activity: The antifertility activity of Nigella sativa in male rats has been established, shown by an inhibition of spermatogenesis and a significant reduction in sialic acid content of the testis, epididymis, seminal vesicles and prostate. 6. Antioxytocic adivity: Preliminary reports suggest antioxytocic properties, in that a reversible inhibition of spontaneous smooth muscle contraction and inhibition of uterine smooth muscle contraction induced by oxytocin stimulation have been observed.
Nigella sativa has been used for thousands of
years in the
No health hazards or side effects are known with the proper administration of designated therapeutic dosages. Safety profile [22] Seeds of Nigella sativa have a long history of use for food and medicinal purposes. No adverse or side effects have been reported when used within the recommended dosage, although dermatitis has been reported. Conclusion Herbs are the natural drugs used to regain the alterations made in normal physiological system by foreign organisms or by any malfunctioning of the body. The WHO has already recognized the contribution of traditional health care in tribal communities. It is very essential to have a proper documentation of medicinal plants and to know their potential for the improvement of health and hygiene through an eco friendly system. Thus importance should be given to the potentiality of studies as these can provide a very effective strategy for the discovery of useful medicinally active identity. A detailed and systematic study is required for identification, cataloguing and documentation of plants, which may provide a meaningful way for the promotion of the traditional knowledge of the herbal medicinal plants. The present review reveals that Nigella sativa is used in treating various ailments. It elicits on all the aspects of the herb and throws the attention to set the mind of the researchers to carry out the work for developing its various formulations, which can ultimately be beneficial for the human beings as well as animals. References 1. New_International_Encyclopedia 2. Domestication of plants
in the 3. Look for sterols at http://glycoscience.org/glycoscience/linksPage/links.html 4. Varghese
E. SVD “Applied Ethnobotany- A case study among the
Kharias of Central India”, Deep Publications,
12. Khare, C.P. “Encyclopedia of Indian Medicinal Plants”,
15. www.botanical.com/botanical 16. Chopra, 1958, 515, 568; Modi, 677; Schindler, 145; Rangaswami & Reichstein, Helv. chim. acta, 1949, 32, 939 17. Rittel & Reichstein, ibid., 1954, 37, 1361 18. Rittel et. al., ibid., 1953, 36, 434; Pendse & Dutt, Bull. Acad. Sci. Unit. Prov., 1933-34, 3, 209. 19. Chopra RN, Chopra IC, Handa KL, Kapoor LD, Chopra’s Indigenous drug of India, U.N. Dhar & Sons Pvt. Ltd. Calcuta, 2nd ed. 1958 20. Satyanarayana et.
al., 21. http://www.divineremedies.com/ 22. http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/generic_frame.html?Nige_sat.html |
