Black Seed Oil

Black Cumin or in Botanical Medicine terms, Nigella sativa, is considered a divine plant with scriptures of this medicine dating back to ancient Arabic and Egyptian times. There are also writings of the medicine of The Black Seed in the Bible and the Quran. The Black Seed is of the Ranunculaceae family and is considered a Holy Plant by many different ancient cultures. It is said by the Prophet Mohammad to "use this Black seed, it has a cure for every disease except death" and Hippocrates mentioned it especially as a curative to digestive issues. Know this properly: Black Seed or Black Cumin, this medicine, is not of the same plant or genus as common Cumin.

Black Seed is believed to have originated in and around Egypt, the Middle East, Greece and India. It is not completely clear as this ancient medicine was so revered that Physicians that knew of its healing powers moved it and cultivated it so they had medicine to give the people. It is known that a Pharaoh in Egypt, King Tutankhamen, was entombed with litres of Black Seed Oil. This medicine requires hot and dry climates to grow wildly and it is in the form of bushes that reach approximately a half of a metre high and possesses blue flowers .Other names for this medicine are Kalonji by the habitants of India, Arabs refer to it as الحبة السوداء or Shooneez and also as Habbatul barakah, meaning the "Seed of Blessing." The old Biblical texts refer to Black Seed as Ketzah, the Assyrians called it Tin Tir while the Iranians refer to it as Baraka Seeds. It is translated from Arab to French as Haricots Noirs and thus we get the English term of The Black Seed.

Black Seed is known to have several properties related to it’s medicine, a list that follows is not exhaustive as truly the ancients say it is for everything except death. Predominantly it is known to have several medical actions in the body including: analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antispasmodic, antipyretic, bronchodilator, expectorant, anticholinergic, antidiabetic, hepatic, kidney protectant, hypotensive and works strongly on the immune system with several different mechanisms including inducing interferons, antagonizing leukotrienes and inhibiting TNF-alpha. There are several studies done for the ‘evidence’ of this medicine, which this Western World loves to rely on. It’s available online if you wish to doubt the ancient wisdom, or need proof, that is your own path.

Strong evidence of this medicine shows uses for Digestive ailments including H. Pylori and Strept/Staph infections, Lung infections particularly Bronchitis, Pneumonia, Asthma, Autoimmune diseases, Diabetes and Liver complications and so forth. It is found in several studies that insulin production is stimulated with this medicine along with increased sensitivity by the cells to the uptake of insulin. Thousands of years of Observation by the Scholars of Hadith say this medicine is good for Hot and Cold conditions and the Ayurvedic Scholars say this medicine removes obstructions from any part of the body while expelling gases and strengthening the stomach. Modern trials show effectiveness of Black Seed in the treatment of Diabetes Mellitus and skin issues such as Psoriasis, Eczema, Vitiligo. It is said to expel Kidney, Gallbladder and Urinary stones and the oil can be put into the ears for earaches. It is even said to take this before bed for a restful sleep most probably due to the anti-inflammatory action.

The composition of this oil is very high in Omega 3 and Omega 6 Fatty Acids with 55.6% Linoleic Acid (Omega 6), 23. 4% Oleic Acid and 12.5% Palmitic Acid. Essential Oils compose 0.5-1.5% of this medicine withy Thymohydroquinone (Nigelone) and Thymoquinone being the main components. Carvacrol, Thymol, Linalool, P-cymene are the strong Volatile oils of this medicine and therefore immediately shows its parallel to Oregano Oil.

Just to please anyone with doubts, here is some EBM:

Two grams of black seed a day resulted in reduced fasting glucose, decreased insulin resistance, increased beta-cell function, and reduced glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in Type 2 Diabetics [1]

Black seeds possess clinically useful anti-H. pylori activity that is comparable to triple antibiotic therapy [2] while Black seed have also shown strong anti-bacterial activity against MRSA by clinical isolates of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus [3] In cases of Acute tonsillopharyngitis, characterized by tonsil or pharyngeal inflammation (i.e. sore throat) which is mostly viral in origin, black seed was found to significantly alleviate throat pain, and reduce the need for pain-killers in human subjects.[7] While a randomized, placebo-controlled human study of chemical weapons injured patients found that boiled water extracts of black seed reduced respiratory symptoms, chest wheezing, and pulmonary function test values, as well as reduced the need for drug treatment.[8]

The daily use of 100 and 200 mg of black seed extract, twice daily, for 2 months, was found to have a blood pressure-lowering effect in patients with mild hypertension [4]

Thymoquinone, one of the main active constituents within Nigella sativa is superior to the drug Fluticasone in the treatment of asthma in animals.[5] An study on humans found that boiled water extracts of black seed have potent anti-asthmatic effect on asthmatic airways [6]

References:

[1] Abdullah O Bamosa, Huda Kaatabi, Fatma M Lebdaa, Abdul-Muhssen Al Elq, Ali Al-Sultanb. Effect of Nigella sativa seeds on the glycemic control of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 2010 Oct-Dec; 54(4):344-54. PMID: 21675032

[2] Eyad M Salem, Talay Yar, Abdullah O Bamosa, Abdulaziz Al-Quorain, Mohamed I Yasawy, Raed M Alsulaiman, Muhammad A Randhawa. Comparative study of Nigella Sativa and triple therapy in eradication of Helicobacter Pylori in patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia. Saudi J Gastroenterol. 2010 Jul-Sep; 16 (3):207-14. PMID: 20616418

[3] Abdul Hannan, Sidrah Saleem, Saadia Chaudhary, Muhammad Barkaat, Muhammad Usman Arshad. Anti bacterial activity of Nigella sativa against clinical isolates of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. 2008 Jul-Sep;20(3):72-4. PMID: 19610522

[4] Farshad Roghani Dehkordi, Amir Farhad Kamkhah. Antihypertensive effect of Nigella sativa seed extract in patients with mild hypertension. Braz J Med Biol Res. 2006 Apr;39(4):421-9. Epub 2006 Apr 3. PMID: 18705755

[5] Rana Keyhanmanesh, Mohammad Hossein Boskabady, Mohammad Javad Eslamizadeh, Saeed Khamneh, Mohammad Ali Ebrahimi. The effect of thymoquinone, the main constituent of Nigella sativa on tracheal responsiveness and white blood cell count in lung lavage of sensitized guinea pigs. J Ethnopharmacol. 2009 Oct 29;126(1):102-7. Epub 2009 Aug 8. PMID: 19711253

[6] M H Boskabady, N Mohsenpoor, L Takaloo . Antiasthmatic effect of Nigella sativa in airways of asthmatic patients. Phytomedicine. 2010 Feb 8. Epub 2010 Feb 8. PMID: 20149611

[7] M Dirjomuljono, I Kristyono, R R Tjandrawinata, D Nofiarny. Symptomatic treatment of acute tonsillo-pharyngitis patients with a combination of Nigella sativa and Phyllanthus niruri extract. Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2008 Jun;46(6):295-306. PMID: 18541126

[8] Mohammad H Boskabady, Javad Farhadi. The possible prophylactic effect of Nigella sativa seed aqueous extract on respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function tests on chemical war victims: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2008 Nov;14(9):1137-44. PMID: 18991514

Written by Dr. Ashley Kristina Romanchuk, ND. All Rights to this Information are owned under Mountainash Medicine Corporation, Copyright © in effect