ABSTRACT
Plants including herbs serve as a unique source of bioactive compounds that possess therapeutic benefits in the treatment of several diseases. Among herbal species, Nigella sativa possess enormous bioactive compounds and their aqueous seed extract is a significant way to isolate crude bioactive compounds which can later be separated using different techniques. The study reported in this chapter focuses on the extraction of 588bioactive components from N. sativa seeds and characterize them through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Preliminary phytochemical screening studies revealed the presence of pharmaceutically substantial phytochemicals. GC-MS analysis identifies 11 bioactive compounds with therapeutic property based on their molecular mass retention time and peak values, whereas FTIR spectra indicate the presence of different functional groups that correspond to various significant phytochemicals. These bioactive components from N. sativa seed extracts are highly beneficial as a curative agent for several diseases ranging from cancer to acquired immune deficiency syndrome in future.
