Biologically active compounds of perspective Nigella L. species and their changes under electromagnetic radiation

Abstract

Aim. The evaluation of biologically active compounds of seeds of three Nigella species cultivated in Belarus and their changes under the influence of electromagnetic radiation. Methods. A comparative NMR analysis of chloroform extracts of three species of the Nigella family (Nigella damascena L., Nigella sativa L., Nigella orientalis L.) has been carried out and the influence of EMR on the extract composition has been investigated. The seeds were obtained from plants cultivated on the experimental site of the Department of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology of the Central Botanical Garden, NAS of Belarus. Results. Fatty acid composition of the extract was evaluated; linoleic and oleic acids are the most abundant among triglycerides. The presence of thymoquinone in the extracts was proven. The content of unsaturated fatty acids in the lipid fraction of the Nigella sativa seeds increases by 10–13 % after the treatment with electromagnetic radiation in Regime 1 (53.57–78.33 GHz, 20 min) and Regime 3 (64.0–66.0 GHz, 8 min). The influence of EMR on the presence of thymoquinone in the seeds is shown. Conclusions. The variation of fatty acids composition of three different Nigella species has been shown. The specificity of Nigella damascena is the highest content of eicosadienoic acid in the seed extracts, while those of Nigella orientalis contains the highest amount of linoleic acid. Nigella sativa is the leader in thymoquinone accumulation.The changes of fatty acids composition and structure of Nigella sativa triacylglycerides that occur under the influence of EMR are determined.

Keywords: seeds, Nigella sativa, Nigella damascena, Nigella orientalis, nuclear magnetic resonance, fatty acids.