546  Nigella  Seeds,  or  Black  Cummin.  {^"D/cT/mL"' 
nigella  was  commonly  sown  in  gardens,  the  seeds  being  used  medici- 
nally in  wine  as  a  spicy  stimulant,  and  also  as  a  perfume,  for  he  says 
"  it  serveth  well  among  other  sweets  to  put  into  sweet  waters,  bagges, 
and  odoriferous  powders." 
Nigella  seeds  had  a  place  in  the  London  Pharmacopoeia  as  late  as 
the  edition  of  1721.  In  the  East,  the  seeds  have  been  extensively 
used  from  the  remotest  times  to  the  present  day. 
Description. — The  seeds  are  about  th  of  an  inch  long,  of  an  irreg- 
ular, compressed  pyramidal  form,  3  or  4-sided,  with  an  oblique  rounded 
base,  whence  sharp  ridges  proceed  towards  the  blunt  summit  of  the 
seed.  The  surface  is  black,  rough,  granular,  and  devoid  of  polish. 
The  seeds  have  an  aromatic  taste,  and,  when  crushed,  considerable 
fragrance.* 
Microscopical  Structure. — The  albumen  consists  of  large  polyhedral 
cells,  and  is  covered  by  a  thin  brown  tegmen.  The  testa  presents  two 
or  three  rows  of  more  or  less  thick-walled  cells,  the  inner  being  elon- 
gated in  a  direction  parallel  to  the  surface  of  the  seed,  the  outer 
vaulted,  and  a  certain  number  of  them,  chiefly  those  forming  the 
ridges,  prominently  conical.  The  whole  testa  is  blackish  or  dark 
bluish.    The  embryo  is  situated  near  the  apex  of  the  seed. 
The  tissue  of  the  albumen  abounds  in  fat  oil  and  in  granular  albu- 
minous matters  ;  it  is  not  altered  by  a  salt  of  iron. 
Chemical  Composition. — Reinsch  in  1841  obtained  from  this  seed 
35*8  per  cent,  of  fat  oil,  0*8  per  cent  of  volatile  oil,  and  only  0*6  per 
cent,  of  ash.  He  gave  the  name  of  Nigellin  to  a  bitter  extract  resem- 
bling turpentine,  yet  soluble  in  water  as  well  as  in  alcohol,  though 
not  in  ether. 
By  submitting  25  lbs.  of  fresh  seed  to  distillation,  I  obtained  a 
nearly  colorless  essential  oil  in  even  smaller  quantij^y  than  Reinsch. 
It  has  a  slight  odor,  somewhat  resembling  that  of  parsley  oil,  with 
a  magnificant  bluish  fluorescence,  as  already  remarked  by  Reinsch. 
In  a  column  50  mm.  long,  this  oil  deviates  the  ray  of  polarized 
light  9-8'"  to  the  left.  Its  specific  gravity  is  0-8909.  The  chief 
part  of  it,  when  distilled  with  chloride  of  calcium  in  a  current  of 
dry  carbonic  acid,  comes  over  at  493°  (256°  C.)    In  an  elementary 
^  Those  of  the  nearly  allied  N.  Damascena,  L.,  are  rather  more  ovoid,  less 
sharply  ridged,  less  aromatic,  and  not  pungent. 
