Blackseed Oil

SAP VALUE:185-205

SAP (KOH): 0.195

SAP (NaOH): 0.139

INCI: Nigella sativa Seed Oil

Iodine Value: 126-128

CAS No.: 90064-32-7

Useful for: acne, inflammation, psoriasis, eczema, hypopigmentation

Introduction

Black seed oil originates from a flower known as the Nigella sativa. It also goes by the names black cumin, black caraway, nigella or kalonji. Nigella sativa is a plant often found within Western Asian countries such as Iran as well as Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria and Romania.

Nigella sativa belongs to the Ranunculaceae or buttercup family, the majority of which are perennials (expected to live longer than 2 years). They are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stem above the ground. Nigella sativa flowers tend to be white or blue and their seeds are black. The plant normally has between 5 and 10 petals, and grows to heights of 20-30cm.

Traditional Uses of Blackseed

This plant is extremely popular in traditional systems of medicine such as the Unani Tibb, Ayurveda and Siddha (Ahmad et al, 2013). In African and Asian countries it was also used as an allergy treatment as well as a flavouring agent. The plant has been used as a folk medicine for a wide range of diseases and disorders involving the digestive tract, kidney and liver function, respiratory system, cardiovascular system, diabetes and as immune support. It is a popular spice in South and West Asian Cuisine. In addition to this, the black seeds of the Nigella sativa have also been used within the treatment of parasitic diseases.

Archaeological evidence has found that the earliest cases of Nigella sativa collection dates to more than three millennia, with black seeds having been found across may sites in Ancient Egypt, including Tutankhamun’s tomb (Zohary, Hopf and Weiss, 2013).

Physical and Chemical Characteristics

The seeds of the Nigella sativa have a diverse chemical composition that include proteins, carbohydrates, amino acids, and fixed and volatile liquids, however many of the pharmacological uses of this plant have been attributed to the high quinone concentrations present within the seed, with thymoquinone being one of the main active constituent of black seed oil. Quinones are a special class of organic compounds structurally derived from aromatic compounds: benzene or naphthalene.

Blackseed Oil Fatty Acid Profile

Source: V. K. BABAYAN D. KOOTTUNGAL G. A. HALABY, 1978

Health Benefits of Nigella sativa

The phytochemical thymoquinone found in nigella sativa has been extensively investigated for it’s anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-cancerous properties.

Some studies have suggested thymoquinone is effective at stopping the advancement of cancer in the proliferation, migration, and invasion stages of development (Imran et al, 2018). The plant also contains other bioactive compounds such as monoterpenes. In one study, isolated thymoquinone extracted from Nigella sativa had dose-dependent inhibitory effect on both gram negative and gram-positive bacteria. Nigella sativa extracts and oil shows promising signs of being able to have an effect on drug resistant strains (Aljabre, Alakloby and Randhawa, 2015) Due to the anti bacterial aspect of the oil it may help in wound healing (Emeka LB et al; 2015).

Studies have shown an apparent anti viral activity of blackseed oil. One study found a decrease in overall viral count of hepititus C in patients who were given 450mg capsules of nigella sativa (Ahmad et al 2017)

Various studies have shown nigella sativa to be anti fungal against a wide range of pathogenic fungi. This has partly been put down to levels of thymoquinone found in the oil.

Researchers who studied treatment of fungal infections by using natural products found that N. sativa has an enhancing antifungal effect [38, 42, 43]. Another research that depended on micro well dilution assay was conducted against three human pathogenic fungal strains Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, and Candida albicans [6]. Moreover, in 2013 all the extracts of essential N. sativa oil showed effective antifungal activity against C. albicans, C. tropicalis, and C. krusei at MIC values of 16–64 μg/ml [44] (ibid)

Skin and Hair Benefits

Skin

Extracts from the seeds of Nigella sativa have been found to increase the thickness of the epidermis suggesting it may be beneficial for people with proriasis, a painful autoimmune disorder characterised by the hyperproliferation, or over production, of dermal cells (Aljabre, Alakloby and Randhawa, 2015). Concomitantly, a similar study in the use of blackseed oil in the treatment imiquimod (IMQ) induced psoriasis-like skin lesions in albino rats found that rats with induced psoriasis who received topical application of a 5% concentration of blackseed oil in a cream had alleviation of symptoms. This led the authors to conclude, “topical use of black seed oil strongly inhibited IMQ-induced psoriasis-like inflammation and alleviated all epidermal and dermal changes observed after IMQ application, allowing us to conclude that black seed oil can be used as an adjuvant topical therapy for treating psoriasis.”(Okasha et al 2017).

When applied consistently nigella sativa has also been found to increase tissue repair and reduce the size of acne lesions (Aljabre, S., Alakloby, O. and Randhawa, M., 2015). Bhalani et al compared the antibotic effect of nigella sativa against the standard drug amoxicillin and found that both had a similar effect at inhibiting bacteria.

A recent study conducted by Sarac et al (2019)in University Faculty of Medicine, Turkey, investigated the effects of topical black seed application on vitiligo, a skin pigment disorder.. 33 participants with vitiligo applied a cream containing blackseed oil on different areas of the body twice daily for 6 months and re-pigmentation was assessed. This non double-blind study found that the participants experienced over 50% re-pigmentation after treatment which supported the use of blackseed oil as a treatment for vitiligo (ibid).

Hair

Also, a 2017 study indicated that an herbal hair oil containing Nigella sativa appeared to reduce hair loss or alopecia by up to 76%

Comments

Blackseed oil has a peppery, medicinal scent that would, when used at the right amounts, may act as a scent fixative.

References

Ahmad, A., Husain, A., Mujeeb, M., Khan, S., Najmi, A., Siddique, N., Damanhouri, Z. and Anwar, F., 2013. A review on therapeutic potential of Nigella sativa: A miracle herb. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine, 3(5), pp.337-352.

Eid, A. M., Elmarzugi, N. A., Abu Ayyash, L. M., Sawafta, M. N., & Daana, H. I. (2017). A Review on the Cosmeceutical and External Applications of Nigella sativa. Journal of tropical medicine, 2017, 7092514. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/7092514

Emeka LB, Emeka PM, Khan TM. Antimicrobial activity of Nigella sativa L. seed oil against multi-drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from diabetic wounds. Pak J Pharm Sci. 2015 Nov;28(6):1985-90. PMID: 26639493.

Aljabre, S., Alakloby, O. and Randhawa, M., 2015. Dermatological effects of Nigella sativa. Journal of Dermatology & Dermatologic Surgery, 19(2), pp.92-98.

Imran, M., Rauf, A., Khan, I., Shahbaz, M., Qaisrani, T., Fatmawati, S., Abu-Izneid, T., Imran, A., Rahman, K. and Gondal, T., 2018. Thymoquinone: A novel strategy to combat cancer: A review. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 106, pp.390-402.

Okasha EF, Bayomy NA, Abdelaziz EZ. Effect of Topical Application of Black Seed Oil on Imiquimod-Induced Psoriasis-like Lesions in the Thin Skin of Adult Male Albino Rats. Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2018 Jan;301(1):166-174. doi: 10.1002/ar.23690. Epub 2017 Sep 23. PMID: 28926201.

Sarac, G; Yelda Kapiciogl; Serpil Sener (2019) Effectiveness of topical Nigella sativa for vitiligo treatment Dermatologic Therapy. 2019;32:e12949

Zohary, D., Hopf, M. and Weiss, E., 2013. Domestication of plants in the Old World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

V. K. BABAYAN, D. KOOTTUNGAL, G. A. HALABY (1978) PROXIMATE ANALYSIS, FATTY ACID AND AMINO ACID COMPOSITION OF NIGELLA SATIVA L. SEEDS, Journal of Food Science, Volume43, Issue4, Pages 1314-1315

Rebecca Wright19 October 2021