[5] Ajwain's small, oval, seed-like fruits are pale brown schizocarps, which resemble the seeds of other plants in the family Apiaceae such as caraway, cumin and fennel.

[5] Ajwain grows in dry, barren soil in its indigenous regions of India, Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of northern Africa.

It is widely used in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, often as part of a chaunk (also called a tarka), a mixture of spices – sometimes with a little chopped garlic or onion – fried in oil or clarified butter, which is used to flavor a dish at the end of cooking.

[6] Pregnant women should avoid ajwain due to potential adverse effects on fetal development, and its use is discouraged while breastfeeding.

[6] Hydrodistillation of ajwain fruits yields an essential oil consisting primarily of thymol, gamma-terpinene, p-cymene, and more than 20 trace compounds which are predominantly terpenoids.