Nigella damascena

About: Nigella damascena is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 121 publications have been published within this topic receiving 1390 citations. The topic is also known as: love-in-a-mist & Devil-in-a-bush.

Influence of space-flight conditions on seeds of allium fistulosum /spring onion/ and nigella damascena /nutmeg flower/

Abstract: Influence of space flight conditions including cosmic radiation on spring onion & nutmeg flower seeds

Studies in the Family Rannnculaceae — Microsporangium, Microsporogenesis and TJbisch Granules in Nigella damascena

Abstract: Introduction In the order Banales, Ranunculaceae are the largest family comprising about 49 genera and about 500 species. The family is characterised for its remarkable combination of primitive and advanced characters viz. actinomorphic or zygomorphic flower; free or fused carpels; multiovulate follicles or uniovulate achenes; crassior tenuinucellar ovules which may be ategmic, unitegmic or bitegmic; persistent or ephemeral antipodal cells and occurrence of mono, bi, and tetrasporic embryo sac development. The genus Nigella is unique in exhibiting connation of carpels and an involucre of much dissected leaves beneath each flower. Although many taxa of this family have been investigated from the point of comparative embryology, information on Nigella is meagre. This is particularly so with regard to the microsporangium, microsporogenesis and male gametophyte. This prompted us to take up this present investigation on Nigella damascena L. We are grateful to Professor B. M. JOHRI for encouragement and Dr. K. M. M. DAKSHINI for valuable suggestions.

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitory effects of the essential oil of Nigella sativa L. seeds and its selected components

Abstract: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common progressive form of dementia exhibited as progressive loss of memory and reduction of crucial neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Increase of acetylcholine can be achieved by inhibition of its metabolic enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE). AChE inhibitors are still the best available pharmacotherapy for AD patients. Plants are potential source of bioactive compounds and offer a promising strategy for the treatment of neurological disorders such as AD. The aim of this study is to isolate essential oil from Nigella Sativa L. seeds, determine its chemical composition, identify main components and investigate AChE inhibition of both essential oil and its components. Inhibitory activity of essential oil and some of its components were evaluated using simple colorimetric assay based on Ellman’s method. Kinetic studies were also performed for selected compounds and kinetic parameters were determined. As main constituents of the essential oil thymoquinone, p -cymene, isolongifolene, α -thujene and carvacrol were identified. The results of the Ellman assay showed that carvacrol was the strongest inhibitor, followed by p -cymene, thymoquinone and last essential oil. Further research should be addressed to indigenous plant Nigella damascena L. and compare it to Nigella sativa L. in all aspects.

Micro- and Macroscale Patterns of Petal Morphogenesis in Nigella damascena (Ranunculaceae) Revealed by Geometric Morphometrics and Cellular Analyses

Abstract: Petals, the inner organs in a differentiated perianth, generally play an important role in pollinator attraction. As such, they exhibit an extraordinary diversity of shapes, sizes and colors. Being involved in pollinator attraction and reward, they are privileged targets of evolution. The corolla of the Ranunculaceae species Nigella damascena consists of elaborate nectariferous petals, made of a stalk, upper and lower lips forming a nectar pouch, shiny pseudo-nectaries, and pilose ears. While the main events of petal development are properly described, little is known about the pattern of organ size and shape covariation and the cellular dynamics during development. Here, we investigate the relationships between morphogenesis and growth of N. damascena petal using geometric morphometrics coupled with the study of cell characteristics. First, we found that petal shape and size dynamics are allometric during development, and that their covariation suggests that petal shape change dynamics are exponentially slower than growth. We then found that cell proliferation is the major driver of shape patterning during development, while petal size dynamics are mostly driven by cell expansion. Our analyses provide a quantitative basis to characterize the relationships among shape, size and cell characteristics during the development of an elaborate floral structure. Such studies lay ground for future evo-devo investigations of the large morphological diversity observed in nectariferous structures, in Ranunculaceae and beyond.

A floral dimorphism in Nigella damascena L : genetic and molecular control, and adaptive significance

Abstract: Understanding flower diversity requires on one hand the study of the molecular and developmental origin of floral architecture, and on the other the study of the functional and ecological consequences of flower morphology. A great deal of that diversity can be found at the perianth level which comprises the sepals and petals, sterile and versatile organs that play a major role in the reproductive success of animal pollinated flowering plants through their attractive characteristics.This thesis is the result of a multidisciplinary effort to understand the genetic and molecular origin as well as the evolutionary significance of perianth diversity, using the Nigella damascena L. as a model. This Ranunculaceae species presents a rare naturally occurring floral dimorphism affecting perianth architecture. The putatively ancestral form found in natural populations has a well differentiated bipartite perianth composed of five petaloid sepals and eight nectariferous petals, while the perianth in the alternative apetalous mutant, cultivated for horticultural purpose, has no petals and but is instead composed of numerous organs showing a continuum of forms from outer sepal-like to inner stamen-like.The first part of this thesis was dedicated to the study of the developmental, genetic and molecular origin of this dimorphism, via a detailed characterization of floral morphology and development in both morphs, which laid a foundation for the interpretation of the results of a candidate gene approach. Using expression analysis and functional validation we showed that NdAP3-3 is fully responsible for the complex N. damascena floral dimorphism, suggesting that it plays a role not only in petal identity but also in meristem patterning, possibly through the regulation of perianth organ number and perianth-stamen boundary.The second half of this thesis focused on the impact of the floral dimorphism on the reproduction mode and evolutionary maintenance of the two morphs. We assessed reproduction strategies and reproductive success in the two morphs by studying a polymorphic experimental population in natural conditions. The absence of petals in the mutant form was associated with a qualitative drop in pollinator visitation which resulted in a shift towards selfing. The study of their progeny suggests that selfing had a negative effect on the descendant’s vigor via inbreeding depression. Additionally, in our material, the allele responsible for the apetalous phenotype seems to be linked to a favorable allele increasing fitness. We discuss the mechanisms of the dimorphism maintenance in light of these results.