An annual plant of the yellow family. The stem is erect, 15-40 cm tall, branched, furrowed, glandular-downy. Swallows are twice or thrice pinnately dissected, with short linear or broad linear lobes. Flowers are single, regular, bisexual, with a double perianth; sepals (5 of them) petal-shaped, blue, oblong or ovate, in the lower part narrowed into a short nail, blunt at the apex, rarely short-pointed, 10-12 mm long, with rather distinct veins; nectary petals (5-8 of them) are shorter than the sepals, with short claws and double-lipped plates, the upper lip of which is elongated, at the apex is elongated into a point, the lower one is longer than the upper one, and the apex is twice-parted. The fruit is a collective leaf; leaflets are swollen, glandular-warty, fused to each other along the entire length to the base of the spouts. Blooms in July.
Distribution . Black seed comes from the Mediterranean. It is cultivated throughout the territory of Ukraine as a decorative and spicy plant.
Procurement and storage . Black cumin seeds (Semen Nigelae sativae, synonym — Semen Cumini nigri), known in the trade as “black cumin”, are used to make medicines. The seeds are squeezed out of ripe blackberry fruits, dried and stored in tightly closed cans or cans without access to light.
The plant is unofficial .
Chemical composition . Black seed contains steroids: campesterin, sitosterol, stigmasterol, cholesterol, a-spinasterol; nigelin alkaloid, essential oil (0.46-1.4%), triterpene saponins, coumarins, thymoquinone, lipase enzyme and fatty oil (30.8-44.2%), which contains oleic acid (48.76%) , linoleic (37.56%), myristic, palmitic, stearic, linolenic, eicosadiene and petroselinic acids.
Pharmacological properties and use. Blackcurrant preparations increase diuresis, contribute to the increase of milk in lactating women, regulate menstruation, have antibacterial, protistocidal and anthelmintic activity, have carminative, mild laxative and choleretic properties, act as a tonic. The main indications for the appointment of blackberry are flatulence, hypogalactia, kidney stone disease, jaundice and worm infestation. A certain therapeutic effect is also observed in bronchial asthma, insomnia and women’s diseases. Internal use of sedum in combination with external use has a positive therapeutic effect on skin rashes. In homeopathy, black seed is used for diseases of the stomach, gall bladder, and liver. In addition, black pepper seeds are used as a spice when pickling cucumbers, watermelons and cabbage,
Medicinal forms and applications .
Internally – black tea (0.5-1 g of seeds per day) is drunk 1 glass 3 times a day; seed decoction (3 g of raw material per 300 ml of boiling water) half a glass 3 times a day.
Externally – washing the seeds with decoction (prepared as in the previous recipe). Treatment with black pepper seeds should be carried out under the supervision of a doctor.