Nigella sativa L. a plant which joins different cultures

Nigella sativa L. (Ranunculaceae), commonly known as black cumin, was used in the Middle East as a traditional medicine. N. sativa seeds have been found in several sites from ancient Egypt, including Tutankhamun's tomb. In Islam, it is regarded as one of the greatest forms of healing medicine available. The Islamic prophet Muhammad once stated that the black seeds can heal every disease except death. The first written reference to Nigella is found in the Old Testament (Isaiah 28: 25, 27). In medieval times, nigella was studied by Arab-Islamic researchers, particularly by al-Biruni and Avicenna who claims that the seeds of black cumin have the property to stimulate body energy as natural tonic. In recent years, black cumin oil and thymoquinone, the main bioactive constituent of the seeds oil, are in the spotlight due to their beneficial effects of human health. Studies have shown that thymoquinone has a potential anticancer property and more. In our previous study, using different analytical techniques, we determined the content of thymoquinone. Antioxidant and antimutagenicity properties have also been studied. Here we present the results for a new high-throughput method aimed to achieve a new system for the quality control based on the combination of chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques, adequate to investigate the chemical constitution of complex mixtures of natural products. Five marketed N. sativa seeds oils were analysed through this new HPTLC-Raman approach. The previous results have confirmed the reported antimutagenic and antioxidant properties, moreover have shown HPTLC is high sensitivity and rapid detection method to determine thymoquinone in nigella seeds oils. In this study we have weaved together High-Performance Thin Layer Chromatography and Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering Spectroscopy (SERS) in order to expand the applicability of HPTLC on complex samples. The combination of chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques has represented a successful tool for the separation and identification of oil’s constituents. This work highlight how a multidisciplinary study can guarantee the quality of products for sale.