Amazing Nigella Sativa For Your Health Treatment

Blackseedis phytotherapuetic (Herbal medicine ) and has been known to reduce your risk to illness and disease by strengthening your immune system and protecting your body’s most important organs. In English, Nigella sativa seed is variously called fennel flower, nutmeg flower, Roman coriander, blackseed, black caraway, or black onion seed. Other names used, sometimes misleadingly, are onion seed and black sesame, both of which are similar-looking but unrelated. The seeds are frequently referred to as black cumin (as in Bengali: kalo jira, kalo jeera, kali jeera), but this is also used for a different spice, Bunium persicum. The scientific name is a derivative of Latin niger “black”. Another many names such as black cumin, kalonji, blackseed, swartzcummel, Nigella sativa, fennel flower, habbat al barakah, sinouj, black caraway and habba sawdah.

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. For centuries, the Black Seed herb and oil has been used by millions of people in Asia, Middle East, and Africa to support their health. An aromatic spice, similar looking to sesame seed except black in color, 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 overall well-being. Black Seed is also known as Black Cumin, Black Caraway Seed, Habbatul Baraka (the Blessed Seed), and by its botanical name “Nigella Sativa”.

Since 1959, over 200 studies at international universities and articles published in various journals have shown remarkable results supporting its traditional uses recorded almost 1400 years ago.

While the blackseedis highly effective by itself, ongoing studies with the combination of other herbs have produced remarkable results.

Amazingly nigella sativa’s chemical composition is very rich and diverse. Aside from its primary ingredient, crystalline nigellone, Black Seed contains 15 amino acids, proteins, carbohydrates, both fixed oils (84% fatty acids, including linolenic, and oleic), and volatile oils, alkaloids, saponin, and crude fiber, as well as minerals such as calcium, iron, sodium and potassium. There are still many components in Black Seed that haven’t been identified. Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer at Jefferson in Philadelphia have found that thymoquinone, an extract of nigella sativa seed oil, blocked pancreatic cancer cell growth and killed the cells by enhancing the process of programmed cell death, (apoptosis). Black Seed! and its curative virtues from the ancient knowledge base of Prophetic medicine to new scientific research. This intersection between the Prophetic knowledge base matched with the learning from scientific research surely contributes to make the Sweet Sunnah Black Seed products totally effective and unique. Black Seed (Nigella sativa) appropriately known as the “seed of blessing” is considered to be one of the greatest healing herbs of all times.

It is an excellent phytotherapuetic medicine used for millenniums to treat a variety of conditions related to respiratory health, skin, stomach and intestinal disorders, kidney & liver function, circulatory and immune system support, and to maintain and improve overall health. Phytotherapeutic- simply put, consists of the treatment or prevention of ailments and diseases through the usage of plants.

habbatussauda has a pungent bitter taste and a faint smell of strawberries. The variety of naan bread called Peshawari naan is as a rule topped with kalonji seeds. In herbal medicine, Nigella sativa has antihypertensive, carminative, and anthelmintic properties.

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 prophet Muhammad once stated that the black seed can heal every disease—except death—as recounted in the following hadith:

Narrated Khalid bin Sa’d R.A:We went out and Ghalib bin Abjar R.A was accompanying us. He fell ill on the way and when we arrived at Medina he was still sick. Ibn Abi ‘Atiq came to visit him and said to us, “Treat him with black cumin. Take five or seven seeds and crush them (mix the powder with oil) and drop the resulting mixture into both nostrils, for ‘Aisha has narrated to me that she heard the Prophet saying, ‘This black cumin is healing for all diseases except As-Sam.’ ‘Aisha said, ‘What is As-Sam?’ He said, ‘Death.’ ” (Bukhari)

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.

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Black Cumin (Nigella sativa)

September 4 2007 post, titled “A Cure For Every Disease Except Death.” The title of my post is the translation of an ancient saying (which I loved!) referring to a common Islamic belief that the black cumin seed plant, or Nigella sativa or blackseed, a member of the buttercup family (the Ranunculaceae family), is a panacea for every ailment except aging and death. And everything that I read online yesterday and this morning on different websites would seem to confirm the extraordinary and wide-ranging healing properties of this plant.

Wikipedia, for instance, informs us that Nigella sativa has been used for centuries, both as a herb and pressed into oil, by people in Asia, Middle East, and Africa for medicinal purposes. 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 overall well-being. In Islam, it is regarded as one of the greatest forms of healing medicine available.

So here we have a plant extract that was and is used to treat ailments ranging from asthma to diarrhea, from skin diseases to nervous disorders, high blood pressure, diabetes, worms and parasites. Nigella sativa has antifungal, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities, and also allegedly strengthens the immune system, cleanses the body, purifies the blood, improves blood circulation, and helps us live longer. Strengthens the immune system? Purifies the blood? Helps us live longer? Sounds too good to be true. Ahhh, but this is just the beginning.

In the past few decades Nigella sativa has been under scrutiny for its anti-cancer potential. Nope, unfortunately I found no black cumin – myeloma studies. But I am still looking! Here follows a selection of the many studies examining the effects of Nigella sativa and its various extracts on cancer.

A June 2007 study (abstract: http://tinyurl.com/2zksw6), which I was lucky enough to get my hands on, thanks to a good friend (grazie!), informs us that “Nigella sativa has immunopotentiation and antihistaminic, antidiabetic, anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities. [...] Furthermore, blackseed preparations may have a cancer chemopreventive potential and may reduce the toxicity of standard antineoplastic drugs.”

The study looked at the in vitro and in vivo (mice) potential of different extracts of Nigella sativa seeds against several tumour cell lines. The essential oil injected directly into solid tumours inhibited their development, and even decreased their volume after 30 days of treatment. The study concludes: “Our results indicate for the first time that intra-tumor treatment of tumor-bearing mice with essential oil may have led to the inhibition of metastasis development [...]. These results demonstrate either that the essential oil has an anti-metastatic activity in mice or that it inhibits or delays metastasis by rapid reduction of primary tumor volume at the site of induction. [...] The present study demonstrates that the cytotoxic activity of blackseed extracts is a complex phenomenon depending not only on the nature of the extract and its components, but also on the tumor cell type.”

An August 2007 study published in “Cancer Research” (http://tinyurl.com/266rlg) examines the in vitro and in vivo effects of one of Nigella sativa’s active compounds, thymoquinone, on prostate cancer, concluding that it may prove to be effective in treating hormone-sensitive as well as hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Furthermore, because of its selective effect on cancer cells, we believe that thymoquinone can also be used safely to help prevent the development of prostate cancer. The cytotoxicity of Nigella sativa purified extracts, thymoquinone (TQ) and dithymoquinone (DIM), against a variety of tumour cells had already been examined in 1998 (http://tinyurl.com/33woyf). With very good results, I should add.

A 2005 article (http://tinyurl.com/2u9arx) mentions “the protective effects of TQ and the volatile oil against the nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity induced by either disease or chemicals. The seeds/oil have antiinflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, antimicrobial and antineoplastic activity. The oil decreases blood pressure and increases respiration. Treatment of rats with the seed extract for up to 12 weeks has been reported to induce changes in the haemogram that include an increase in both the packed cell volume (PCV) and haemoglobin (Hb), and a decrease in plasma concentrations of cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose.” Well, all this is truly remarkable, to say the least.

As I do with all the substances on my research list, I checked to see if there was any mention of clinical trials. I was actually not surprised to find only ONE (see: http://tinyurl.com/34kv6e), which tested Nigella sativa on dyslipidemia, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. No cancer trials. Not one! This sounds all too familiar, unfortunately. (Big sigh.)

My own experience with Nigella sativa. My interest in this remarkable plant was sparked at the beginning of 2006, after I read that black cumin seeds had been found in the tomb of Tutankhamen (how about that for a fascinating historical detail?). That reminds me: I have not yet mentioned that the seeds are used in Middle Eastern cooking to flavour breads, cakes, and even alcoholic beverages. And oh, by the way, Nigella sativa should not be confused with the herb and spice known as cumin, which is a member of the parsley family (I made that mistake until I looked it up). In April, I took black cumin oil capsules, a total of two grams a day, then I ran out of them and didn’t place another order since by then I had flaxseed oil capsules. However, I wonder if the black cumin oil might have had a positive effect on my good IgG increase in June ? And possibly on the improvement in my rosacea? Hard to say, now. I wasn’t paying much attention to these oil capsules at the time, I confess, since I hadn’t done much research at that point and was using them mainly to enhance curcumin bioavailability. Well, after what I have read in the past two days, I will reorder black cumin oil capsules and test them as a holistic remedy. Soon. In fact, I am going to see if I can grow the plant in my back yard with the rest of my herbs. My Nigella sativa story doesn’t end here!

Update. May 20 2008 post: Today’s Science Daily (http://tinyurl.com/42pofz) has an interesting report on Nigella sativa, also known as black cumin. The black cumin seed plant is a member of the buttercup family and is a highly regarded medicinal plant in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

This is not news to me. I wrote a post in September of 2007 about Nigella sativa titled “A cure for every disease except death.” If you need a memory refresher, just click on my black cumin page on the right side of your screen.

Back to Science Daily. Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University recently discovered that an extract of Nigella sativa, called thymoquinone, blocked pancreatic cancer cell growth and killed the cells via apoptosis.

After adding thymoquinone to pancreatic cancer cells, the researchers observed increased levels of p53 and Bax, both cancer cell killers, as well as decreased levels of Bcl-2, a protein that instead blocks apoptosis. For more technical details please go read the article.

So even though I am working on a different topic right now, this article motivated me to have a quick look around to see what else I could find.

An interesting abstract published in 2006 (see:http://tinyurl.com/4srow5) deals with the effects of Nigella sativa on rats who had been injected with cadmium. Well, the rats that were treated also with Nigella sativa fared much better than the others: their red and white blood cell counts and haemoglobin were higher, for instance. This is actually the real reason I decided to mention this study: if your haemoglobin and red and white blood cell counts are low, you might consider taking this supplement. Nigella sativa also increased the lowered insulin levels and neutrophils of the rats, and decreased their elevated heart rate and glucose concentration. So, good stuff!

Since Sherlock and I have been doing our experiments together, I have stopped taking Nigella sativa. But I will resume taking it over the summer as soon as our current experiment ends. My RBC and WBC counts are low, albeit still within the normal range. My haemoglobin is also within the normal range but I would love to bring it up a bit.

Hmmm, I just read that black cumin seeds are a good source of iron, as you can see here: http://tinyurl.com/3vvs5m. Well, well…WELL!

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