Nutritional Content of Nigella Sativa Seed

The nutrition of different seeds from different regions is different, as it depends on the soil, water, and climate of the region. Thus, the effect of using seed oil can be different. This explains the fact that people buying products without knowing what seeds were used for obtaining the oil do not feel the effect. Today many countries with an unfavorable climate for the cultivation of the flower Nigella Sativa try to cultivate it on a large scale, in order to get seeds for sales to factories which produce natural oils. That’s why the first question that a buyer of such rare product should ask is: "What seeds were used for the oil extraction?". But this is not the only criteria for the quality of the product, so for more information about it, check out the page of our website Quality.

Seeds and properly extracted black seed oil (by last reports in 2016) contain more than 100 active ingredients and about 50 catalysts of natural cell biosynthesis, and this is not all...

“There are still many components that have not been identified yet and research is currently on-going around the world with respect to this plant” (Zahoor et al., 2004)

The black seed oil contains following list and percentage of fatty acids:

According to Dr. Axe, the creator of the famous American site of alternative medicine, which cites the information of the Egyptian Journal of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, cumin seeds include very important Phytochemical components that make this product very powerful and useful:
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• Thymoquinone (TQ)
• Thymohydroquinone (THQ)
• Thymol

Here are some details about those Phytochemical components:
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• THYMOQUINONE – this substance is contained in 30-40% essential oils of Nigella Sativa seeds. This substance was first obtained in 1960 by Professor El-Dakhakhny.
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• THYMOHYDROQUINONE – it’s another kind of Thymoquinone. It is the most potent natural acetylcholinesterase inhibitors on the planet. Thymohydroquinone has the main role in halting enzyme activity. This allows a brain to keep a big amount of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine longer. .
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• THYMOL – is an active and famous ingredient that has medicinal properties, benefits, and useful qualities. Thymol is widely used in medical practice and in the pharmaceutical industry. There is even a medical drug called “Thymol” - antihelminthic drug, antiseptic, bactericidal, antipruritic, and anthelmintic means. On its basis, there are also other drugs, such as tooth elixirs and disinfectants.

Now consider the chemical composition of seeds of black onion. Seeds from different countries have been tested and investigated in various laboratories around the world since the early 1990’s. There are many research results with different data since we have already mentioned the fact that seed nutrition depends on the place of origin, as the main factors affecting the development of seed are the soil, water, and climate of a particular region. In this case, we will compare the seeds from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen, India, Pakistan, China, India, Ethiopia, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, and Sudan. We took analyses results which were determined by the of AOAC methods in 1997, and for comparison, we added research results from other Middle East countries.

“The pure seeds of Nigella sativa showed richness and diversity in its biological structure. These seeds contain carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids, volatile, and fixed oils” (Rajsekhar and Kuldeep, 2011)

Different region seeds chemical ingredients table:

You see a big discrepancy between seeds testing data from the different regions of Africa, Asia, and the Mediterranean. This once again proves that the quality of the oil is directly dependent on the seeds and BioNatal never makes a secret about which seeds we use for extracting the oil. In our Quality section, you can find out which seeds are considered the best and which ones we use for the production of natural oil.

Important Vitamins in black seeds:

(The table was created by average research result of 2004)

Furthermore, “Biological examination of Nigella Sativa contents has revealed that it contains carotene, which is converted into Vitamin A by the liver” (Nergiz and Otles, 1993)

Important components in seeds and oil of natural Nigella is the presence of Fiber. Unfortunately, there is no particular study that specifies the composition of this ingredient in black cumin oil, but these studies were carried out by The Enzymatic-Gravimetric Assay in 1996, and the presence of the following components was verified:
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• Total Dietary Fiber (TDF)
• Soluble Dietary Fiber (SDF)
• Insoluble Dietary Fiber (IDF)

The fiber content of samples of different varieties of Nigella Sativa seeds:

In the end, we will present the results of seed analysis from the same countries on the presence of minerals. This table even more clearly shows the huge difference in the quality of cumin seeds from different countries due to the big difference in the number of various minerals in them. Mineral content was also determined by the AOAC methods in 1997, using the flame AAS system. Also, for the global comparison, we have added research results from other Arab sources, in particular from Yemen.

The mineral content difference of the black seeds from different countries:

Conclusion: the tables that we presented above and that compare the black cumin seeds from different countries clearly indicate that the quality can be different globally. The oil, extracted using natural black seeds from different countries, also has a different tone, color, and bitterness.

Thanks to the many years of our manager’s experience regarding oil extraction in Egypt, today BioNatal is the only company in the U.S. that has a clear understanding of the seed difference, and thus works only with proven suppliers of raw materials from specific regions. In the Quality section, you will learn about the quality of Ethiopian black cumin seeds, which BioNatal works with. Additionally, you will see the analysis of our oil, and BioNatal never makes a secret of it because we are sure that our product is the best and purest. Our customers should know everything about our products!

To order real back seed oil from the strongest Ethiopian seeds, please visit BioNatal Online Store

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