Nigella sativa - wikipedia Nigella sativa Nigella sativa Scientific classification Kingdom : Plantae ( unranked ) : Angiosperms ( unranked ) : Eudicots Order : Ranunculales Family : Ranunculaceae Genus : Nigella Species : N. sativa Binomial name Nigella sativa L. Synonyms Nigella cretica Mill. Nigella sativa Nigella sativa ( black - caraway, also known as black cumin, nigella and kalonji ) is an annual flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to south and southwest Asia. Nigella sativa grows to 20 -- 30 cm ( 7.9 -- 11.8 in ) tall, with finely divided, linear ( but not thread - like ) leaves. The flowers are delicate, and usually colored pale blue and white, with five to ten petals. The fruit is a large and inflated capsule composed of three to seven united follicles, each containing numerous seeds which are used as spice, sometimes as a replacement for black cumin ( Bunium bulbocastanum ). Seed Contents 1 Etymology 1.1 Common names 2 Culinary uses 3 History 4 Chemistry 5 Research 6 References 7 External links Etymology The genus name Nigella is a diminutive of the Latin niger ( black ), referring to the seeds. Common names In English, Nigella sativa and its seed are variously called black - caraway, black - cumin, fennel - flower, nigella, nutmeg - flower, Roman - coriander, and kalonji ( from Hindi - Urdu ). Blackseed and black caraway may also refer to Bunium persicum. Culinary Uses Nigella sativa seeds The seeds of Nigella sativa are used as a spice in Indian and Middle Eastern cuisines. The black seeds taste like a combination of onions, black pepper and oregano. They have a pungent bitter taste and smell. The dry - roasted seeds flavor curries, vegetables and pulses. It can be used as a `` pepper '' in recipes with pod fruit, vegetables, salads and poultry. In some cultures, the black seeds are used to flavor bread products. It is also used as part of the spice mixture panch phoron ( meaning a mixture of five spices ) and by itself in many recipes in Bengali cuisine and most recognizably in naan bread. Nigella is also used in Armenian string cheese, a braided string cheese called majdouleh or majdouli in the Middle East. History Archaeological evidence about the earliest cultivation of N. sativa `` is still scanty '', but N. sativa seeds were found in several sites from ancient Egypt, including Tutankhamun 's tomb. Seeds were found in a Hittite flask in Turkey from the second millennium BCE. N. sativa may have been used as a condiment of the Old World to flavor food. The Persian physician, Avicenna, in his Canon of Medicine, described N. sativa as a treatment for shortness of breath ( or dyspnea ). Chemistry Nigella sativa oil contains linoleic acid, oleic acid, palmitic acid, and trans - anethole, among other minor constituents. Research Preliminary studies have investigated claims from traditional medicine that N. sativa has efficacy as a therapy, mainly using the seed oil extract, volatile oil, and isolated constituent thymoquinone. One meta - analysis of clinical trials found weak evidence that N. sativa has a short - term benefit on lowering systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and another found limited evidence that various extracts of black seed can reduce triglycerides, LDL and total cholesterol while raising HDL cholesterol. References Jump up ^ `` The Plant List : A Working List of All Plant Species ''. Jump up ^ `` BSBI List 2007 ''. Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original ( xls ) on 2015 - 02 - 25. Retrieved 2014 - 10 - 17. ^ Jump up to : `` USDA GRIN Taxonomy ''. Jump up ^ Heiss, Andreas ( December 2005 ). `` The oldest evidence of Nigella damascena L. ( Ranunculaceae ) and its possible introduction to central Europe ''. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. 14 ( 4 ) : 562 -- 570. doi : 10.1007 / s00334 - 005 - 0060 - 4. JSTOR 23419312. ( Registration required ( help ) ). Jump up ^ Hyam, R. & Pankhurst, R.J. ( 1995 ). Plants and their names : a concise dictionary. Oxford : Oxford University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 866189 - 4. p. 341. ^ Jump up to : Bharat B Aggarwal. Molecular Targets and Therapeutic Uses of Spices. Google Books. p. 259. ISBN 978 - 981 - 4468 - 95 - 4. Retrieved 4 January 2015. Jump up ^ Bunium persicum - ( Boiss. ) B. Fedtsch. Common Name Black Caraway Jump up ^ Bramen L ( 16 February 2011 ). `` Nigella Seeds : What the Heck Do I Do with Those ? ''. smithsonian.com. The Smithsonian Online. Retrieved 4 January 2015. ^ Jump up to : Zohary, Daniel ; Hopf, Maria ( 2000 ). Domestication of plants in the Old World ( 3 ed. ). Oxford University Press. p. 206. ISBN 0 - 19 - 850356 - 3. Jump up ^ Saliha B, Sipahib T, Oybak Dönmez, E ( 2009 ). `` Ancient nigella seeds from Boyalı Höyük in north - central Turkey ''. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 124 ( 3 ) : 416 -- 20. doi : 10.1016 / j. jep. 2009.05. 039. CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ Avicenna ( 1999 ). Canon of Medicine. Chicago : Kazi Publications. Jump up ^ Ali BH, Blunden G ( 2003 ). `` Pharmacological and toxicological properties of Nigella sativa ''. Phytother Res. 17 ( 4 ) : 299 -- 305. doi : 10.1002 / ptr. 1309. PMID 12722128. Jump up ^ Sahebkar A, Soranna D, Liu X, et al. ( 2016 ). `` A systematic review and meta - analysis of randomized controlled trials investigating the effects of supplementation with Nigella sativa ( black seed ) on blood pressure ''. J Hypertens. 34 ( 11 ) : 2127 -- 35. doi : 10.1097 / HJH. 0000000000001049. PMID 27512971. Jump up ^ Sahebkar A, Beccuti G, Simental - Mendía LE, et al. ( 2016 ). `` Nigella sativa ( black seed ) effects on plasma lipid concentrations in humans : A systematic review and meta - analysis of randomized placebo - controlled trials ''. Pharmacol Res. 106 : 37 -- 50. doi : 10.1016 / j. phrs. 2016.02. 008. PMID 26875640. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nigella sativa. Nigella sativa Culinary herbs and spices Herbs Angelica Basil holy Thai Bay leaf Indian bay leaf ( tejpat ) Boldo Borage Chervil Chives garlic / Chinese Cicely Coriander leaf / Cilantro Bolivian Vietnamese ( rau răm ) Culantro Cress Curry leaf Dill Epazote Hemp Hoja santa Houttuynia cordata ( giấp cá ) Hyssop Jimbu Kinh gioi ( Vietnamese balm ) Kkaennip Lavender Lemon balm Lemon grass Lemon myrtle Lemon verbena Limnophila aromatica ( rice - paddy herb ) Lovage Marjoram Mint Mugwort Mitsuba Oregano Parsley Perilla Rosemary Rue Sage Savory Sanshō leaf Shiso Sorrel Tarragon Thyme Woodruff Spices Aonori ( ground seaweed ) Ajwain Allspice Amchoor ( mango powder ) Anise star Asafoetida Camphor Caraway Cardamom black Cassia Celery powder Celery seed Charoli Chenpi Cinnamon Clove Coriander seed Cubeb Cumin Nigella sativa Bunium persicum Deulkkae Dill / Dill seed Fennel Fenugreek blue Fingerroot ( krachai ) Galangal greater lesser Garlic Ginger Aromatic ginger ( kencur ) Golpar Grains of Paradise Grains of Selim Horseradish Juniper berry Kokum Korarima Dried lime Liquorice Litsea cubeba Mace Mango - ginger Mastic Mahleb Mustard black brown white Nigella ( kalonji ) Njangsa Nutmeg Pomegranate seed ( anardana ) Poppy seed Radhuni Rose Saffron Salt Sarsaparilla Sassafras Sesame Shiso seeds / berries Sumac Tamarind Tonka bean Turmeric Uzazi Vanilla Voatsiperifery Wasabi Yuzu zest Zedoary Zereshk Zest Peppers Alligator Brazilian Chili Cayenne Paprika Long Peruvian Sichuan ( huājiāo ) Japanese pricklyash Tasmanian Peppercorn ( black / green / white ) Mixtures Adjika Advieh Baharat Beau monde seasoning Berbere Bouquet garni Buknu Chaat masala Chaunk Chili powder Cinnamon sugar Crab boil Curry powder Doubanjiang Douchi Duqqa Fines herbes Five - spice powder Garam masala Garlic powder Garlic salt Gochujang Harissa Hawaij Herbes de Provence Idli podi Jamaican jerk spice Khmeli suneli Lemon pepper Mitmita Mixed spice Montreal steak seasoning Mulling spices Old Bay Seasoning Onion powder Panch phoron Persillade Powder - douce Pumpkin pie spice Qâlat daqqa Quatre épices Ras el hanout Recado rojo Sharena sol Shichimi Tabil Tandoori masala Vadouvan Yuzukoshō Za'atar Lists and related topics Lists of herbs and spices Culinary Australian Bangladeshi Indian Pakistani Related topics Chinese herbology Herbal tea Marination Spice rub Taxon identifiers Wd : Q160575 EoL : 485246 GBIF : 5371700 GRIN : 25337 iNaturalist : 122834 IPNI : 711687 - 1 ITIS : 506592 NCBI : 555479 Plant List : kew - 2381679 PLANTS : NISA2 Tropicos : 27100104 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nigella_sativa&oldid=809016628 '' Categories : Ranunculaceae Medicinal plants Spices Herbs Plants described in 1753 Indian spices Hidden categories : Pages with login required references or sources CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list Articles with ' species ' microformats Articles containing Latin - language text Use British English from May 2011 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikispecies Acèh አማርኛ Asturianu Azərbaycanca تۆرکجه বাংলা Български Bosanski Català Cebuano Čeština Dansk Deutsch ދިވެހިބަސް Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Hornjoserbsce Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Basa Jawa ಕನ್ನಡ Қазақша Kurdî Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar Bahasa Melayu Nederlands नेपाली ਪੰਜਾਬੀ پنجابی Polski Română Русский සිංහල Simple English Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska தமிழ் ไทย Тоҷикӣ Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 粵語 Edit links This page was last edited on 6 November 2017, at 17 : 03. 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Question: is nigella seed the same as onion seed
Answer: The black seeds taste like a combination of onions, black pepper and oregano.