Antioxidant activity of Nigella sativa essential oil

The essential oil of black cumin seeds, Nigella sativa L., was tested for a possible antioxidant activity. A rapid evaluation for antioxidants, using two TLC screening methods, showed that thymoquinone and the components carv acrol, t-anethole and 4-terpineol demonstrated respectable radical scavengi ng property. These four constituents and the essential oil possessed variab le antioxidant activity when tested in the diphenylpicrylhydracyl assay for non-specific hydrogen atom or electron donating activity. They were also e ffective OH radical scavenging agents in the assay for non-enzymatic lipid peroxidation in liposomes and the deoxyribose degradation assay. GC-MS analysis of the essential oil obtained from six different samples of Nigella sativa seeds and from a commercial fixed oil showed that the qualit ative composition of the volatile compounds was almost identical, Differenc es were mainly restricted to the quantitative composition, Copyright (C) 20 00 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.