Shoneez

Background and Purpose:

“Shoneez” known as “Siyahdaneh”, “Habbato saudā” and “Kalonji”, is one of the most ancient known plants with hot and dry temperament at the third degree which is used for treatment of various diseases. Black seed is an herbaceous annual herb, and its flowering time is from late May to July. The seeds of this plant are black, triangular and fragrant. Their pleasant odor is smelled when they are crushed. The aim of this study was adaptation of the botanical descriptions of “Shoneez” according to Traditional Persian Medicine resources to the black seed according to modern literatures to specify its scientific name. Therapeutic and pharmacological effects were also explored.

The characterization and properties of plants were extracted from Traditional Persian Medicine texts and also recent studies and were compared to each other.

There are similarities in botanical description of the plants’ leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds. “Shoneez” has been used in a wide range of gastrointestinal, urinary, respiratory and skin diseases. Also, black seed is one of the most important plants in the world and extensive studies have been carried out regarding its efficacy and active ingredients (especially thymoquinone) on various diseases. Several effects including antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, cholesterol-lowering, anti-tumor and positive effects on the function of the gastrointestinal and respiratory protective activity have been reported from the seeds.

Reviewing the ancient and current literatures demonstrated that the scientific name of “Shoneez” is Nigella sativa L. and both traditional and conventional medicine suggests the effectiveness of black seed on respiratory and gastrointestinal systems.