Black Seed is used in perfumery, especially in soaps, and as a spice in cakes, breads, pastries, confectionery, sauces, cheese, etc. The oil is added to alcoholic liquors. Also used as flavouring material and for medicinal purposes. The fatty oil obtained by the expression of seeds is used for edible purposes. The oil is semi drying and is of reddish brown colour. They are also used as a stabilizing agent for edible fats. Locally, oil is anaesthetic.

Preliminary clinical trials indicate its possible therapeutic use in some conditions of cough and bronchial asthma. (Dutta, J. Inst Chem. India, 1959, 31 295 ; Gildemeister & Hoffmann, IV, 611 ; Nadkarni, I, 855 : Mahfouz & ElDakhakhny, J. pharm. Sci. U.A.R., 1960, 1, 9). Clinical trials also indicate its use for control of Blood Sugar & Chololesterol.

The seeds of N. savita are considered carminative, stimulant, diuretic, emmenagogue, galactagogue, and are used in the treatment of mild cases of puerperal fever. They are externally applied for eruptions of skin. Alcoholic extracts of the seeds show antibacterial activity against Micrococcus pyogenes var. aureus and Escherichia coli.

The Black Seed & its Oil is being used in many parts of the world for a long time, because of its usefulness in the treatment of several ailments a usefulness proved scientifically and by experience through ages of use in Asia and the Gulf and Middle East Countries.

The Black Seed is commonly used for many Ayurvedic preparations in Sri Lanka and India and is highly recommended as a drug in Ayurvedic Scriptures.

Descriptions of Black Seeds

An annual herb 35-50 cm tall, branching at the top, stem green, round, hairy, 2-5 mm diam., internodes 2-5 cm long; leaves alternate, pinnate, lower leaves small, petioled, upper leaves sessile, 6-10 cm long, pinnae irregularly lobed, glabrous on the upper surface, hairy beneath and on the rachis; flowers regular bisexual, terminal on branches, white or greenish white about 3 cm diam., long stalked, pedicels 1.5 5.5cm long becoming longer as the fruit matures; perianth 5, free, greenish white, lanceolate, 1.2 1.5 cm long, 0.4 0.5 cm broad, 3 veined, veins branching; honey leaves 8, 5 mm long, 2.5 mm broad, 3 lobed, anterior lobe, small ovate, acuminate, blue, flapped over the fused concave hairy base of the pair of posterior lobes, posterior lobes ovate, greenish white, apex blue with a blue line across the body, each carrying a shining green mass, scantily ciliated; stamens numerous, outer ones longer than the inner ones, basifixed, filaments 2.5 5.2 mm long, slender, anthers 1.5 2 mm long; ovary superior, 5 mm long. smooth, 5 carpellary, syncarpous, 5 locular, axile placentation, styles and stigmas about 7 mm long; fruit capsule with many black trigonal seeds.