Cumin

English Name: Cumin
Common Indian Name (Hindi): Jeera

• Cumin is the dried seed of the herb Cuminum cyminum, a member of the parsley family.
  Cumin seeds resemble caraway seeds, being oblong in shape, longitudinally ridged, and yellow-brown in color, like other members of the Umbelliferae family such as caraway, parsley and dill.
• Cumin is an annual herbaceous plant native to Eastern Mediterranean region and is popularly used for food flavoring, aroma. The seeds of the plant are used in whole or powdered form in food processing industry.
• It is also used for flavoring dishes, biscuits, confectionery and other spicy products.
• It is also used in different industries for its essential oil.
• Cumin is stomachic, diuretic, carminative, stimulant, astringent, emmenagogic and antispasmodic.
• It is valuable in dyspepsia diarrhea and hoarseness, and may relieve flatulence and colic. In the West, it is now used mainly in veterinary medicine, as a carminative, but it remains a traditional herbal remedy in the East.
• It is supposed to increase lactation and reduce nausea in pregnancy.
• It has been shown to be effective in treating carpal tunnel syndrome, as well as diarrhea, indigestion, and morning sickness.