A Modern Rediscovery

In the last fifty years, Black Seed has been the subject of over two hundred university studies and research papers. The oil extracted from Black Seed (Nigella Sativa) has a rich composition of more than 100 compounds including essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. The special powers of Black Seed are thought to result from a complex synergistic interaction of all these components. Scientists have yet to identify all the ingredients in this amazing herb, but they have been able to verify its beneficial use, and recent studies have focused on the regulatory influence of Black Seed on the immune system. Research has shown that regular use of Black Seed helped to strengthen and stabilize the immune system, thus enabling a variety of other illnesses to be eliminated or, at least, relieved. In related studies, scientists have found that Black Seed stimulates bone marrow and immune cell formation, protects the body against viruses, destroys tumor cells and inhibits infection. Work done at various cancer research institutes have also indicated that Black Seed holds “remark- able promise for clinical use in cancer treatment”. Other clinical research has shown that the use of Black Seed significantly improves the T-cell ratio and at the same time enhances the natural killer cell activity. Thus Black Seed has much potential in the treatment of immune-deficiency diseases like cancer and AIDS.

An Ancient Tradition

Nigella Sativa (Black Seed) is one the most revered medicinal seeds in history. The use of Black Seed as a healing herb has been traced back more than 3000 years to the Assyrians and ancient Egypt. The oil pressed from Black Seed was known as “Pharaohs Oil” for it was the chosen treatment for numerous ailments and infections. Black Seed was discovered in Tutankhamen’s tomb, indicating that it played an important role in ancient Egyptian practices.  Although its exact role in Egyptian culture is not known, we do know that items entombed with a king were carefully selected to assist him in the afterlife.  The earliest written reference to Black Seed is found in the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament (Isaiah 28:25,27 nkjv).  Easton’s bible dictionary clarifies that the Hebrew word for Black Cumin, Ketsah, refers to without doubt the Nigella Sativa, a Greek physician of the 1st century, recorded that Black Seeds were taken to treat head- aches, nasal congestion, toothache, and intestinal worms, they were also used, he reported, as a diuretic to promote menstruation and increase milk production.  Ibn Sina (980-1037), most famous for his volumes called the Canon (Law) of Medicine, regarded by many as the most famous book in the history of medicine, east or west, refers to Black Seed as the seed that stimulates the body’s energy and helps recovery from fatigue or dispiritedness.