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This study was to assess the nutritional quality and bioactive properties of black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) seeds and oil commonly found in the Chinese market. The results showed that black cumin seeds contain 5.02, 21.07, 39.02, 3.02, 6.01, and 25.86% moisture, crude proteins, crude fat, ash, fiber, and carbohydrates, respectively. It also contains substantial amounts of minerals, namely calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, iron, zinc, and copper. Glutamic acid (4.10 g/100 g protein) is the major amino acid of black cumin seeds. The major volatile components in black cumin seeds were thymoquinone (21.01%), o-cymene (18.23%), and β-thujene (17.22%). Cumin seed oil extracted by the soxhlet method contains high quantities of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA; 85.16%) and low amounts of saturated fatty acids (SFA; 15.02%). The major fatty acid of black cumin seed oil was linoleic acid (57.71%), followed by oleic acid (24.46%). The most prominent TAG of black cumin seed oils was oleoyl-dilinoleoyl-glycerol (OLL; 38.87%). In addition, the levels of α-tocopherol, β-tocopherol, γ-tocopherol, and total polyphenols in the black cumin seed oil were 25.59, 14.21, and 242.83 mg/100 g, and 315.68 mg GAE/kg, respectively, and possessed high antioxidant activity (DPPH IC50%, of 4.02 mg/mL). These findings demonstrate that black cumin seeds are nutritionally rich with high potential applications in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries.

Cuminum cyminum L. (cumin) seeds are widely used as a spice. Although we previously reported that the aqueous extract of cumin seeds suppresses the degranulation of rat basophilic RBL-2H3 cells, it has not been clarified whether the extract alleviates actual allergy symptoms in vivo. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effect of oral administration of cumin seed aqueous extract (CAE) in ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic rhinitis. BALB/c mice were randomly divided into the following three groups: control group (five mice), OVA group (five mice), and OVA + CAE group (five mice). Allergic rhinitis was induced by sensitization (intraperitoneal, 25 μg OVA and 1.98 mg aluminum hydroxide gel) followed by challenge (intranasal, 400 μg OVA). The oral administration of CAE (25 mg/kg) reduced the sneezing frequency of OVA-induced allergic rhinitis model mice. In addition to reducing the serum immunoglobulin E and IL-4 levels, the oral administration of CAE reduced the production of T-helper type-2 (Th2) cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, and IL-13) in the splenocytes of the model mice. Furthermore, a significant increase in the ratio of Th1 to Th2 cells was observed in the CAE-administered group. Our findings suggest that the ingestion of CAE improves T cell balance, the dominant state of Th2, and alleviates allergic rhinitis symptoms.

Recent advances in edible films and edible coatings have piqued interest for their ability to offer benefits similar to those of their plastic counterparts, which carry a negative perception due to environmental concern. Abundance of volatile oils, fibres, alkaloids, minerals and vitamins in black cumin ( Nigella sativa ) bestows potential antioxidant, antimicrobial and other health promoting activities that not only increases the nutritional profile of foods, but also enhances shelf life. The integration of black cumin (Nigella sativa) derivatives—including extract, essential oil, and seed cake—at concentrations ranging from 0.5% to 12% w/w into biopolymer-based edible film and edible coating matrices comprising protein, polysaccharide, chitosan, and pectin has demonstrated significant enhancement in functional attributes, notably antioxidant activity, antimicrobial potency, and optical barrier efficacy. Nonetheless, precise formulation optimization is imperative to counteract potential deleterious impacts on film structural integrity and organoleptic properties. This review delineates the advancement of Nigella sativa-based edible films and edible coatings exhibiting bioactive functionalities conducive to human health and food safety, thereby offering a sustainable alternative to conventional harmful plastic-derived packaging systems.

This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of cold plasma (CP) and ultrasound wave (US) before and during air drying of cumin seeds, respectively. In this regard, different CP exposure times (15 and 30 s), sonication powers (60, 120, and 180 W), and drying air temperatures (30, 35, and 40 °C) were practiced at the velocity of 0.6 m/s to study the underlying changes in drying time, effective moisture diffusivity, energy consumption, total color change, rupture force, and microstructure of cumin ( Cuminum cyminum L.) seeds. It was found that CP pretreatment significantly increased effective moisture diffusivity and reduced drying time, energy consumption, and color change in the cold plasma–assisted drying program (CPCV). The morphological alteration in the seeds’ surface, which accelerates water removal from the inner structure toward the surface, is the main cause of CP-induced modification in the drying process. The positive effect of CP pretreatment on the cumin seeds was intensified when it was followed by high-power sonication during air drying of the seeds. So that, the maximum reductions in drying time (46.65%), energy consumption (39.49%), total color change (40.69), and rupture force (46.84%) were in possession of 15 s CP pretreatment before ultrasound-assisted drying at the power level of 180 W. Longer exposure time (30 s) resulted in denser material with the compacted surface resulting in less color retention and increased rupture force.

In response to the urgent need for full-process mechanization in Xinjiang’s cotton–cumin intercropping system, and to address the prominent bottlenecks of missing equipment for key harvesting steps and reliance on manual operations, we developed a cumin harvester and investigated its operating mechanisms. Guided by the agronomic parameters of the intercropping system, we executed a system-level design centered on the header unit, performed multi-objective optimization using orthogonal experiments and regression modeling, and conducted field validation. Results show: stubble height of 32.6 mm, harvester reel speed of 28 r/min, and forward speed of 3.26 km/h. Under this parameter configuration, the harvest rate was 89.54%, and the average damage rate was 7.33%. Field trials indicated a harvest rate of 88.2% and an average damage rate of 5.6%, with deviations from model predictions of 1.34% and 1.73%. The optimal reel index (λ = 1.69), the longitudinal component of the reel tine motion, prevents repeated impacts on the plants, reducing shattering and threshing damage; the axial component provide reliable support and smooth guidance to the stalks, ensuring continuous, steady cutting; the optimized stubble height is lower than the plant’s center of mass.

Black cumin seed pulp (C), as well as biochar (CC) produced via pyrolysis of black cumin seed pulp were used to remove methylene violet 2B (MV) and basic yellow 28 (BY28) from aqueous solution. Adsorption isotherms and kinetics were applied at 10, 25, and 35 °C. The adsorption of methylene violet 2B and basic yellow 28 on the black cumin seed pulp and biochar surface was exothermic; the heat of adsorption values were lower than 0. The adsorption capacities of BY28-C, BY28-CC, MV-C, and MV-CC were 212.8, 625, 164, and 909 mg g-1 at 25 °C, respectively. The adsorption of black cumin seed pulp and biochar data were examined with the Freundlich, Langmuir, Temkin, Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R), and Flory-Huggins (F-H) isotherm models. The kinetics of the adsorption were fitted to the pseudo first-order and pseudo second order equations. The pseudo second order equation gave a better fit than the pseudo first-order equation.

The aim of this research was to fabricate an active paper containing encapsulated cumin seed essential oil (CSEO) for shelf-life extension of beef hamburger. CSEO-loaded nanoemulsions (NE) and Pickering emulsions (PE) were prepared by Tween80 and blend of whey protein isolate (WPI) and inulin, respectively. The NE had the lowest droplet size and zeta potential values. The blending of inulin with WPI decreased the particle size of PE microcapsules and increased their encapsulation efficiency. Uniformly shaped PE microcapsules and occurring of chemical bonds between CSEO and wall materials were approved by FE-SEM and FT-IR tests. At the second step, the obtained nanocarriers were incorporated into the cellulosic papers (10%wt.) and the morphological, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of active papers were investigated. Finally, the effect of active papers on quality and shelf-life of beef hamburgers stored at 4 °C for 7 days and at − 18 °C for 60 days was investigated. The highest water holding capacity and the lowest color difference were observed for active papers amended with WPI/inulin-stabilized PE at the 7th day of refrigeration. TBARS value and counts of mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria increased during storage and PE-WPI/In treatment had the maximum effect on controlling of microbial growth and lipid oxidation of hamburger. The effect of active papers on the refrigerated samples was more than the frozen ones. In brief, application of microencapsulated CSEO-loaded cellulose papers has the potential to extend the shelf-life of beef hamburger.

In this work, electrospinning was applied to encapsulate the Cumin essential oil in zein electrospun fibers. Initially, the Cumin essential oil was obtained and characterized by GCMS and subsequently incorporated in 27% zein solution at 0, 2.5, 5, 10, and 20% (v/v) concentrations. The SEM and Image-J results showed that encapsulation of Cumin essential oil increased the diameter of zein electrospun fibers from 459 to 855 nm for 0% and 20% loaded electrospun fibers, respectively. The 3D-images of topographic surface of zein electrospun fibers was studied using AFM, and indicated that their morphology were in tubular shapes. The XRD was applied to study the physical structure of loaded electrospun fibers, and the XRD diffaractograms indicated the amorphous structure of electrospun fibers. The DSC thermograms indicated that encapsulation of Cumin essential oil increased the thermal stability of zein electrospun fibers. The FTIR spectra indicated the interaction between zein and Cumin essential oil and FTIR spectra also indicated that adding Cumin essential oil to the electrospun fibers affected the secondary structure of zein protein. The mechanical properties evaluation of electrospun fibers indicated that tensile strength increased with increasing Cumin essential oil from 0.28 (MP) to 3.55 (MP) for 0% and 20% loaded electrospun fibers. BET analysis was used to measure pore size of fibers. The obtained pore sizes were 7, 7.5, 8, 11, and 13 nm for 0, 2.5, 5, 10, and 20% loaded electrospun fibers, respectively. Antibacterial test was carried out by disc diffusion method, and results shown that Cumin essential oil loaded fiber mats inhibited the growth of S. aureus and E. coli, B. cereus, and S. enterica. According to results of this work, Cumin essential oil loaded fibers can be considered as an active packaging to be applied in packages of various foods such as cheese, meat and some other food products.

With the growing concern for health and wellness, many textile mills are witnessing a surge in demand for antimicrobial and anti-viral treatments on fabric. The black cumin seed (BCS) is blessed with various antioxidants and antimicrobial active agents, and can be used to develop antimicrobial fabric. The current study aims to prepare a stable emulsion with BCS oil to apply on casual knitted fabric to investigate its anti-bacterial properties. The homogenous emulsions were prepared with Tween-80 surfactant and applied to the fabric by exhaust method. Thus, the emulsions were stable at various temperatures. The surface functional groups of treated fabric were characterized with FT-IR spectroscopy and the surface morphology was visualized with SEM images to confirm the modification. The FT-IR spectrum of treated fabric guaranteed successful modification, presenting the major surface functional groups in the treated fabric. The SEM images further confirmed this phenomenon as the treated fabric exhibited cemented layer deposition of BCS emulsions. The anti-bacterial activity of treated fabric against Bacillus subtilis microbes was measured using the Kirbey–Bauer method. The result showed that the treated fabric demonstrated anti-bacterial activity against B. subtilis with an inhibition zone of 8 mm. The resistive activity against the target bacteria was found active even after a single wash. This was proven through the optical density test which indicated that the fabric can be used for healthcare PPF securing their antimicrobial and anti-viral properties. Graphical Abstract