MORPHOMETRIC AND BIOCHEMICAL ASSESSMENT OF NIGELLA L. GENOTYPES OF EUROPEAN-ASIAN ORIGIN

Abstract

A recent study in 2019-2020 assessed the productivity, the quality of fatty and essential oils, and the mineral composition of eight nigella genotypes at the Federal State Budget Scientific Institution (FSBSI), Research Institute of Agriculture of Crimea, Simferopol, Russia. Of the eight genotypes, two cultivars originated from Crimea, Russia (Nigella sativa cv. ‘Krymchanka,’ and Nigella damascena cv. ‘Yalita’), and one each from six European-Asian countries, i.e., Dagestan, Uzbekistan, and Sweden (Nigella sativa), Pakistan and India (Nigella indica), and Belgium (Nigella damascena). The Russian nigella genotypes served as control. Genotypes from three European-Asian countries (Sweden, Pakistan, and Dagestan) distinguished from the rest by their highest seed productivity, i.e., 1.0-1.6 g plant-1, which was 1.7-2.7 times higher than the control cultivar ‘Krymchanka.’ The seed productivity of the genotype N. damascena cv. ‘Yalita’ control was 1.5 times greater than the nigella genotype from Belgium. The N. indica produced the highest fatty oil content (29.9%), which exceeded two other species, i.e., N. sativa and N. damascena by 16%–22%. Fatty oils of nigella also contained essential oils of 0.5% for N. sativa and 1.2% for N. damascena. The essential oil of N. sativa contained dominant components, such as, p-cymene (53.5%) and thymoquinone (19.2%), while N. damascena contained p-cymol (82.2%) and other principal components. The identified samples with the maximum accumulation of fatty and essential oils, and macro and microelements can be used to treat and replenish the deficient elements in the human body. Nigella genotype samples exhibited high accumulation of microelements, viz., potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, copper, zinc, and molybdenum in the leaves and seeds.