Ammi, Bishop’s Weed, Ajowan
Ameos, Ethiopian Cumin, Alexandrian Cumin, Cuminum Regium, Cumin of the Kings
Nankhuah, Ajwain (Unani)
Aatrilal (Ammi majus, Unani)
Ajowan, Ajwain, Yavani (Ayurveda)
La La Phud (Tibet)
Kur Ra (Sumerian)
Ninu (Akkadian)
Krauterbuch, Lonitzer, 1578
Salmon, Botanologia, 1710
Left: Ammi copticum; Right: A. majus
Icones Plantarum Medcio-oeconomico, Vietz, 1806
Trachyspermum ammi
(Photo by Sanjay ach) (Wikimedia)
Botanical name:
Several plants supply Ammi:
- Trachyspermum ammi (syn. T. copticum, Ammi copticum, Carum ajowan, Carum copticum)
- T. roxburghianum
- Ammi majus (syn. Apium ammi, Cuminum aethiopicum, Selinum ammoides; Sison pumilum; Visnaga vulgaris)
- Ammi visnaga
That from Alexandria or Crete was regarded as best, which has a ‘taste between Oregano and Thyme’.
Parts used:
Seed
Temperature & Taste:
Warm, dry. Pungent
attenuating, cutting, aperitive, hysteric, carminative, cephalic, alexipharmic
Classifications:
Uses:
1. Warms the Stomach, Clears Wind and Damp:
-Flatulence, tympanites, hiccup
-indigestion, colic, atonic dyspepsia (distilled water or juice can also be used for this function)
-diarrhea, cholera
2. Clears Wind-Cold, Stops Cough:
-Cold, Flu, Fever, acute Sore Throat
-profuse expectoration in Cough, Bronchitis, Asthma
3. Resists Poison:
-Snake bite, Rabid Dog bit and bites of other venomous creatures
-added to various classical Antidotes
4. Clears Damp, Warms and Strengthens the Kidneys:
-Edema, Fluid retention
-Gravel, Stones (seed in powder taken with wine)
-‘mightily provokes Lust’ (Salmon); increases Sperm
-strengthens reproductive organs of both sexes; used for Infertility
-fixed salt was commended for Gout [Arthritis].
5. Moves the Blood, Promotes Menstruation:
-Uterine pain and cramping from Cold and Wind
-Amenorrhea, Dysmenorrhea
-Hysteria
6. Moves the Blood, Settles Internal Wind, Stops Spasms:
-Hypertension, Epilepsy, Hysteria
-Cardialgia, Palpitation (tincture of the seed in 1–2 dram doses taken in wine, Salmon)
7. Kills Worms
-adjunct
8. Externally:
-arthritic and Rheumatic complaints
-fresh herb beaten as a Cataplasm with honey for contusions, bruises
-Vitiligo
Dose:
Powder: 1–3 grams (half–1 dram)
Decoction in Water or Wine: 3–6 grams (1–2 drams)
Juice: 3–6 spoonfuls in wine
Fixed Salt of the Whole Plant: 15–30 grains
Note:
1. The Seed is one of the 4 Lesser Hot seeds; It is used similarly to other seeds of the Apiaceae such as Fennel and Cumin.
2. Salmon said the two ‘Ammi’, native and foreign were equal in strength and properties.
Substitute:
1. Caraway (Waring)
2. Thyme and / or Oregano can replace in some instances
3. La La Phud in Tibetan Medicine is supplied by several seeds with Ammi considered the primary medicine. Fennel seed and Cumin seed are also listed by some sources. In Buryat, Conioselinum tataricum is used.
Main Combinations:
1. Cough and Breathlessness:
i. decoct Ammi, add Honey and take with Orris powder (Arnold de Villa Nova)
ii. Ammi with Long Pepper, Belleric Myrobalan, Adhatoda vasica (Ayurveda)
2. Nausea and Stomach weakness, decoct Ammi with Mint and Galangal (Arnold de Villa Nova)
3. Loss of Appetite, Ammi with Cumin, Cardamon, Mastic (as in Powder for Loss of Appetite of Nicholas)
4. Colic, Griping, Abdominal Spasms:
i, Ammi with Fennel seed, Rock Salt and Chebulic Myrobalan (Ayurveda)
ii. Ammi with Chebula, Fennel, Cumin (Ayurveda)
iii. Ammi with Cumin, Clove, Galangal, Calamint, Ginger, Black Pepper, Spikenard (as in Powder of Cumin Greater)
5. Dysentery, Diarrhea with 5 Myrobalans, Cumin, Aniseed, Caraway (as in Powder for Dysentery of Nicholas)
6. Pain of the Liver, Uterus, Stomach, Ammi with Rhubarb, Calamus, Celery root, Fennel seed (as in Electuary of Rhubarb)
7. Amenorrhea, Dysmenorrhea:
i. Ammi with Saffron, Rose, Myrrh
ii. Ammi with Asparagus racemosus, Ginger, Turmeric, Rose
8. To promote Urine:
i. Ammi with Celery seed, Carrot seed, Parsley seed, Madder, Asarum, Bitter Almond (as in Pills to Promote Urine)
ii. Ammi with Celery seed, Saltpeter, Madder, Juniper berry, Asarum, Indian Spikenard, Melon seed (as in Pills for Retention of Urine)
iii. Ammi with Celery seed, Valerian, Carrot seed, Parsley seed, Savin, Fennel seed, Indian Spikenard (as in Pills of Seeds)
9. Urinary stones:
i. Ammi with Tribulus, Madder, Shilajit (Ayurveda)
10. Infertility:
i. Ammi with Cinnamon, Clove, Saffron, Walnut, Pistachio and Testicles (Ram’s) and Uterue (Rabbit) (as in Decoction for Sterility)
ii. Ammi with Ginger, Cinnamon, Long Pepper, Turnip seed, Indian Spikenard Cardamon, Bay berry, Nutmeg, Marjoram (as in Warming Confection for Infertility)
iii. Ammi with Madder, Mugwort, Wormwood, Fennel root, Marjoram, Clove, Balm, Cyperus root, Cinnamon, Raisin, Mastic, Saffron, Zedoary (as in Electuary to Promote Fertility)
11. Mental tension, Ammi with Centella, Hydrocotyle asiatica, Withania (Ayurveda)
Major Formulas:
Decoction for Sterility (Quercetan)
Electuary of Rhubarb (Unani)
Expert Electuary of Catilinae
Electuary of Bayberries (Electuarium de Baccis Lauri)
Warming Confection for Infertility (Wirtzung)
Electuary Preventing Drunkenness (Unani)
Electuary to Promote Fertility (Wirtzung)
Powder of Cumin Greater (Nicholas)
Powder for Loss of Appetite (Nicholas)
Troches of Saffron (Nicholas)
Pills to Aggregate Greater (Mesue)
Pills to Promote Urine (Unani)
Pills for Retention of Urine (Wirtzung)
Eight-Limbed Electuary (Ayurveda)
Cautions:
1. Phototoxic
2. Some people are allergic
–Occupational allergic rhinitis and contact urticaria caused by bishop’s weed (Ammi majus).
Main Preparations used:
Medicinally in Babylonia, it was used for the eyes, itching feet, teeth, as a pessary for the womb, for fetor in the mouth, stomach, and in fumigations.
‘Bishop’s weed has been in use in India as a condiment and medicine from a very remote period; we find it mentioned by the early Sanskrit writers under the name of Yamani. It is the Nankhwah of Ibn Sina. The Persians call it Zinian and Nankhwah, a name derived from Nan, bread, and Khwah, desire, and given to it on account of its stimulating effect on the appetite. The author of the Persian Dictionary, Burhan-i-katia, gives Talib-el-khubz as the Arabic name, which is equivalent to the Persian Nankhwah. In the Makhzan-el-Adwiya, Kamun-el-muliki is given as the Arabic, and other writers again give different synonyms, so that there is a difficulty in deciding which of the notices in Arabic works have reference to this drug. As pointed out by Fliickiger and Hanbury, the fruits of Ammi majus, L., and Sison amomum, L., have often been confounded with it. The Tuhfat-el-muminin gives Ammi as the Greek name of Ajwan.
In native practice, Ajowan is much used as a carminative, either alone or in combination with rock salt, asafoetida, myrobalans, &c. It is also thought to check discharges of a chronic kind, and is therefore used in making lotions, collyria, &c.; upon the same principle it is prescribed in bronchitis with copious expectoration. A plaster or poultice of the crushed fruit is said to relieve pain. The Ark or distilled water of Ajowan is prepared and sold in the bazars.’ (Vegetable Materia Medica of Western India, Dymock, 1885)
GENERAL / REVIEW
–Aatrilal (Ammi majus L.), an important drug of Unani system of medicine: A review.
–Physico-chemical profile of ammi majus.
–Trachyspermum ammi.
ANTIBACTERIAL
–Evaluation of antibacterial activity of crude protein extracts from seeds of six different medical plants against standard bacterial strains.
–Determination of antibacterial and antioxidant potential of organic crude extracts from Malus domestica, Cinnamomum verum and Trachyspermum ammi.
–An Insight into Biochemical Characterization and Explorations of Antioxidant, Antibacterial, Cytotoxic, and Antidiabetic Activities by Trachyspermum ammi Nanosuspensions.
–Thymol screening, phenolic contents, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Iranian populations of Trachyspermum ammi (L.) Sprague (Apiaceae).
–Evaluation of antimicrobial efficacy of Trachyspermum ammi (Ajwain) oil and chlorhexidine against oral bacteria: An in vitro study.
–Antibacterial activity of traditional spices against lower respiratory tract pathogens: combinatorial effects of Trachyspermum ammi essential oil with conventional antibiotics.
–Polysaccharides from Dolichos biflorus Linn and Trachyspermum ammi Linn seeds: isolation, characterization and remarkable antimicrobial activity.
ANTIMYCOBACTERIAL
–Antimycobacterial potential of Trachyspermum ammi seed essential oil via fume contact and determination of major compounds.
ANTI-VIRAL
–Medicinal Plants Cultivated in Egypt with Antiviral Potential: A Systematic Review.
–Antiviral Potential of Selected Medicinal Herbs and Their Isolated Natural Products.
–Evaluation of antiviral activity of essential oil of Trachyspermum Ammi against Japanese encephalitis virus.
ANTI-FUNGAL
CANDIDA
–Impact and fungitoxic spectrum of Trachyspermum ammi against Candida albicans, an opportunistic pathogenic fungus commonly found in human gut that causes Candidiasis infection.
–Macroporous resin-assisted enrichment, characterizations, antioxidant and anticandidal potential of phytochemicals from Trachyspermum ammi.
–Trachyspermum ammi aromatic water: A traditional drink with considerable anti-Candida activity.
–In-vitro and in-vivo anticandidal activity of Trachyspermum ammi (L.) sprague seeds ethanolic extract and thymol-containing hexanes fraction.
–Antifungal activity of essential oils from Iranian plants against fluconazole-resistant and fluconazole-susceptible Candida albicans.
–Antifungal effect of Trachyspermum ammi against susceptible and fluconazole-resistant strains of Candida albicans.
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
–Evaluation of the antihyperlipidemic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic activities of ethanolic extract of Ammi majus seeds in albino rats and mice.
–Anti-inflammatory new coumarin from the Ammi majus L.
–Evaluation and Comparison of Trachyspermum ammi Seed Extract for Its Anti-inflammatory Effect.
ANTIOXIDANT
–Thymol screening, phenolic contents, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Iranian populations of Trachyspermum ammi (L.) Sprague (Apiaceae).
IMMUNOMODULATORY
–Comparison and Evaluation of Different Seed Extracts of Trachyspermum ammi for Immunomodulatory Effect on Cell-Mediated Immunity through Delayed-Type Hypersensitivity Assay Skin Thickness Method.
–Structural and functional characterization of a novel immunomodulatory glycoprotein isolated from ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi L.).
ANTISPASMODIC
–Spasmolytic and Anti-Spasmodic Action of Trachyspermum ammi Essence on Rat’s Ileum Contraction.
VASORELAXANT
–Endothelium-independent vasorelaxant activity of Trachyspermum ammi essential oil on rat aorta.
ANTIPYRETIC
–Evaluation of the antihyperlipidemic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic activities of ethanolic extract of Ammi majus seeds in albino rats and mice.
ANALGESIC
–Evaluation of the antihyperlipidemic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic activities of ethanolic extract of Ammi majus seeds in albino rats and mice.
HYPERLIPIDEMIA
–Evaluation of the antihyperlipidemic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic activities of ethanolic extract of Ammi majus seeds in albino rats and mice.
–Pharmacological Screening of Trachyspermum ammi for Antihyperlipidemic Activity in Triton X-100 Induced Hyperlipidemia Rat Model.
PEPTIC ULCERS
–Trachyspermum ammi (L.) Sprague, superb essential oil and its major components on peptic ulcers: in vivo combined in silico studies.
NEUROPROTECTIVE
–Trachyspermum ammi Bioactives Promote Neuroprotection by Inhibiting Acetylcholinesterase, Abeta-Oligomerization/Fibrilization, and Mitigating Oxidative Stress In Vitro.
–Thymol in Trachyspermum ammi seed extract exhibits neuroprotection, learning, and memory enhancement in scopolamine-induced Alzheimer’s disease mouse model.
LEARNING & MEMORY ENHANCEMENT
–Thymol in Trachyspermum ammi seed extract exhibits neuroprotection, learning, and memory enhancement in scopolamine-induced Alzheimer’s disease mouse model.
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
–Thymol in Trachyspermum ammi seed extract exhibits neuroprotection, learning, and memory enhancement in scopolamine-induced Alzheimer’s disease mouse model.
ARTHRITIS
–The Effect of Aqueous Extract of Trachyspermum ammi Seeds and Ibuprofen on Inflammatory Gene Expression in the Cartilage Tissue of Rats with Collagen-Induced Arthritis.
OSTEOPOROSIS
–Evaluating the Anti-Osteoporotic Potential of Mediterranean Medicinal Plants: A Review of Current Evidence.
URINARY STONES
–An insight investigation to the antiurolithic activity of Trachyspermum ammi using the in vitro and in vivo experiments.
DIABETES
–An Insight into Biochemical Characterization and Explorations of Antioxidant, Antibacterial, Cytotoxic, and Antidiabetic Activities by Trachyspermum ammi Nanosuspensions.
–Isolation of Thymol from Trachyspermum ammi Fruits for Treatment of Diabetes and Diabetic Neuropathy in STZ-Induced Rats.
CYTOTOXIC
–Extraction, characterization of polyphenols from certain medicinal plants and evaluation of their antioxidant, antitumor, antidiabetic, antimicrobial properties, and potential use in human nutrition.
CANCER
–Quantitative Analysis of Isopimpinellin from Ammi majus L. Fruits and Evaluation of Its Biological Effect on Selected Human Tumor Cells.
–Potential Anticancer Activity of the Furanocoumarin Derivative Xanthotoxin Isolated from Ammi majus L. Fruits: In Vitro and In Silico Studies.
–Anti-Cancer and Anti-Inflammatory Potential of Furanocoumarins from Ammi majus L.
COLORECTAL
–8-methoxypsoralen reduces AKT phosphorylation, induces intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways, and suppresses cell growth of SK-N-AS neuroblastoma and SW620 metastatic colon cancer cells.
ANTHELMINTIC
–Anthelmintic activity of crude powder and crude aqueous extract of Trachyspermum ammi on gastrointestinal nematodes in donkey (Equus asinus): An in vivo study.
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