Nigella sativa (black caraway, also known as black cumin, nigella, kalonji, charnushka[2])[3][4][5] is an annual flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to eastern Europe (Bulgaria and Romania) and western Asia (Cyprus, Turkey, Iran and Iraq), but naturalized over a much wider area, including parts of Europe, northern Africa and east to Myanmar.

The fruit is a large and inflated capsule composed of three to seven united follicles, each containing numerous seeds which are used as spice, sometimes as a replacement for Bunium bulbocastanum (also called black cumin).

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration classifies Nigella sativa as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) for use as a spice, natural seasoning, or flavouring.

[5] Aromatics include thymoquinone, dihydrothymoquinone, p-cymene, carvacrol, α-thujene, thymol, α-pinene, β-pinene and trans-anethole.

[5] Despite considerable use of N. sativa in traditional medicine practices in Africa and Asia, there is insufficient high-quality clinical evidence to indicate that consuming the seeds or oil can be used to treat human diseases.

[5] One meta-analysis of clinical trials found weak evidence that N. sativa has a short-term benefit on lowering systolic and diastolic blood pressure.