What Is Black Seed Good For?

Black seed (Nigella sativa), a herbaceous flowering plant, got its start during ancient times in the Mediterranean but has been cultivated worldwide, in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Asia. According to the University of Wisconsin's BioWeb, black seed, or black cumin, packs a powerful nutritional punch: Black seed is high in unsaturated fatty acids and vitamin A. The seed and its oil boasts healing properties as well, adds BioWeb, making it efficacious for ailments ranging from headaches to intestinal worms.

History

• Black seed, specifically the oil contained in the seed, has been used since ancient times for medicinal purposes by Asian herbalists and as a spice in food by the Romans, according to the website Epicentre. Black seed is also known as black caraway, Roman coriander and wild onion seed, among other names. Explains BioWeb, in the medieval era, Ibn Sina, a renowned philosopher, wrote about black seed in his famous opus "The Canon of Medicine." He found it a useful remedy for intestinal parasites and worms and effective against insect bites.

Culinary Features

• Epicentre says black seed is a favored spice in the cuisines of India and the Middle East. Some Europeans use it as a pepper substitute. It's a standard addition to Indian kormas, dals and chutneys, and it's often sprinkled on naan (the Indian flat bread) before baking. It is one of five spices in panch phoran, also called Bengali five-spice, which includes black mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds.

Palliative Effects

• Epicentre reports that Indian medical practitioners swear by black seed's carminative--flatulent preventative--and stimulant properties. It calms indigestion and irritable bowels. It is also used to encourage lactation. From the seed comes an oil containing damascene, melanthin, nigilline and tannin. Black seed must be taken in moderation because melanthin is toxic in heavy doses (used to induce abortion, according to Food-Med) and nigilline can cause paralysis.

Medicinal Uses

• According to the website Kitchen Doctor, black seed was shown--in studies from 1960, 1995 and 2002--to have strong anti-inflammatory and anti-rheumatic effects and when combined with garlic is a powerful immune system regulator, encouraging immune cells to destroy invading bacterial or tumor cells. Its action is likened to that of the cancer drug interferon, which boosts immune function while attacking foreign invaders, but black seed has none of the toxic side effects. These results came out of research conducted in 1997 at the Cancer Research Laboratory of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The Hilton Head study showed a 250 percent increase in bone marrow production along with a 50 percent inhibition in tumor growth with the use of black seed.

Cosmetic Considerations

• According to Kitchen Doctor, people who use black seed as part of a beauty regimen take the oil form as a capsule to strengthen and make the hair and nails more healthy in appearance. As a cream, black seed soothes skin problems such as psoriasis and eczema. It's also beneficial for burns and skin infections. You can make a cream at home by combining equal parts black seed oil and a carrier oil of your choice, like jojoba or shea butter.