Chapter 13
Nigella (Nigella sativa) Seed
Paras Sharma and T. Longvah
Abstract There are several conventional oilseeds which are used to obtain edible
oil such as soybean oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, etc. However, few are
nonconventional sources that play a crucial role in human health. Nigella sativa is
one of the nonconventional oilseeds, which contains more than 30% (98.5% is fixed
oil, 1.5% essential oil) oil. Fixed oil of nigella seed contains linoleic acid (48–62%)
followed by oleic acid (19–25%) and limited amount of saturated fatty acids
(arachidonic and eicosenoic acid), while the essential oil (volatile oil) contains a
number of bioactive constitutes including thymoquinone (38.23%), p-cymene
(28.61%), longifolene (5.4%), and 4-isopropyl-9-methoxy-1-methyl-1-cyclohexane
(5.8%). Apart from oil, Nigella sativa seed also contains high levels of protein (up to
26%), dietary fiber, and micronutrients. A wide variation also exists in the nutritional
value including minerals and vitamins of Nigella seeds owing to variation in
growing conditions, region, climate, etc. Bioactive constituents of Nigella seeds
exhibit strong health benefits including antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory,
antimicrobial, and antifungal activities. The present chapter covers the nutritional
value, bioactive compounds, health benefits, and food uses of Nigella sativa.
Keywords Nigella sativa · Nutritional value · Fatty acids · Bioactive constituents ·
Micronutrients · Phytosterols
13.1 Introduction
Oilseeds play an important role in human nutrition since they provide oil; likewise,
some of them are also consumed as a whole such as mustard seeds and Nigella sativa
for culinary preparation. Nigella sativa (kalonji in Hindi) has been used since ancient
time to cure a number of diseases and belongs to the family Ranunculaceae. Nigella
P. Sharma (*) · T. Longvah
Food Chemistry Division, ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, India
e-mail: sharma.paras@icmr.gov.in
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
B. Tanwar, A. Goyal (eds.), Oilseeds: Health Attributes and Food Applications,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4194-0_13
331
Nigella (Nigella sativa) Seed
Paras Sharma and T. Longvah
Abstract There are several conventional oilseeds which are used to obtain edible
oil such as soybean oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, etc. However, few are
nonconventional sources that play a crucial role in human health. Nigella sativa is
one of the nonconventional oilseeds, which contains more than 30% (98.5% is fixed
oil, 1.5% essential oil) oil. Fixed oil of nigella seed contains linoleic acid (48–62%)
followed by oleic acid (19–25%) and limited amount of saturated fatty acids
(arachidonic and eicosenoic acid), while the essential oil (volatile oil) contains a
number of bioactive constitutes including thymoquinone (38.23%), p-cymene
(28.61%), longifolene (5.4%), and 4-isopropyl-9-methoxy-1-methyl-1-cyclohexane
(5.8%). Apart from oil, Nigella sativa seed also contains high levels of protein (up to
26%), dietary fiber, and micronutrients. A wide variation also exists in the nutritional
value including minerals and vitamins of Nigella seeds owing to variation in
growing conditions, region, climate, etc. Bioactive constituents of Nigella seeds
exhibit strong health benefits including antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory,
antimicrobial, and antifungal activities. The present chapter covers the nutritional
value, bioactive compounds, health benefits, and food uses of Nigella sativa.
Keywords Nigella sativa · Nutritional value · Fatty acids · Bioactive constituents ·
Micronutrients · Phytosterols
13.1 Introduction
Oilseeds play an important role in human nutrition since they provide oil; likewise,
some of them are also consumed as a whole such as mustard seeds and Nigella sativa
for culinary preparation. Nigella sativa (kalonji in Hindi) has been used since ancient
time to cure a number of diseases and belongs to the family Ranunculaceae. Nigella
P. Sharma (*) · T. Longvah
Food Chemistry Division, ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, India
e-mail: sharma.paras@icmr.gov.in
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
B. Tanwar, A. Goyal (eds.), Oilseeds: Health Attributes and Food Applications,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4194-0_13
331