Botanical Name - Nigella Sativa Category - Spices/Medicinal Form - Dry Part Used - Seeds General Information - Seeds of Nigella sativa (black cumin), a dicotyledonof the Ranunculaceae family, have been used for thousandsof years as a spice and food preservative. Black cumin is anannual herbaceous plant widely grown in the Mediterraneancountries, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Western Asia.The seeds have been added as a spice to a variety of Persianfoods such as bread, yogurt, pickles, sauces and salads. In the Middle East, NorthernAfrica and India, it has been used traditionally for centuriesfor the treatment of asthma, cough, bronchitis, headache,rheumatism, fever, influenza and eczema and for itsantihistaminic, antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory activities. Phytochemicals - The oil and the seed constituents, in particular thymoquinone (TQ), have shown potential medicinalproperties; they exhibit potent anti-inflammatory effectson several inflammation-based models including experi-mental encephalomyelitis, colitis, peritonitis, oedama,and arthritis through suppression of the inflammatory mediators prostaglandins and leukotriens. The oil and active ingredient of TQ showed beneficial immunomodulatory properties, augmenting the T cell andnatural killer cell-mediated immune responses. Most importantly, both the oil and its active ingredients expressed anti-microbial and anti-tumor properties toward different microbes and cancers. Coupling these beneficialeffects with its use in folk medicine, Nigella sativa seed isa promising source for active ingredients that would bewith potential therapeutic modalities in different clinicalsettings. More than 150 studies have been conducted andconfirmed the pharmacological effectiveness of igellasativa seed constituents. Though, Nigella sativa seed is acomplex substance of more than 100 compounds, some ofwhich have not yet been identified or studied.