1. INTRODUCTION:

Trachyspermum ammi (Ajwain) is an aromatic annual plant belonging to the Apiaceae family. It is often known as 'Ajwain' in India. The name of this plant is derived from the greek words 'trachy', which means 'rough', 'supermum', which refers to 'seed¹. The Hindi name Ajwain originated from two Sanskrit words, Vavanaka or Ajomoda, derived from the Greek word yavnaha². T. ammi is a tiny annual herbaceous plant with little egg-shaped fruits that are greyish brown.

The major Ajwain producers are India, Persia, Iran, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and North Africa. Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal are the leading producer states in India. Due to its fragrant smell and spicy flavour, this plant has high therapeutic value and is also used as a spice in Indian foods such as curry^3,4. This plant's many components have a wide range of pharmacological effects⁵. The fruits and seeds of this plant are the most valuable parts. Snacks, pastries, and spices are the most common uses for seeds. In Ayurveda, ajwain seed decoction is used as first-line therapy for abdominal pain, loose bowels, cough, and stomach discomfort⁶. According to several clinical studies, T. ammi possesses antifungal, antioxidant, antibacterial, antinociceptive, cytotoxic, hypolipidemic, antihypertensive, and antispasmodic activities. T. ammi also has antilithiasis, diuretic, abortifacient, antitussive, nematicidal, anti-helminthic, and anti-filarial properties⁷. T. ammi seeds have a distinct fragrance and flavour. For centuries, T. ammi has been used as a carminative, antispasmodic, and indigestion, colic, and stomachache treatment⁸. T. ammi is a well-known spice and traditional fragrant plant used in Unani medicine to treat various ailments. In the Unani traditional system of medicine, T. ammi is mainly used for curing various diseases. An Unani physician demonstrated the therapeutic potential of the Unani formulation of T. ammi against obesity, epilepsy, diarrhea, asthma, renal stone, dental caries, and other gastrointestinal infections⁹. The present review describes the botanical, phytochemical, ethnomedicinal, and pharmacological information related to T. ammi.

Taxonomical Classification:

Kingdom : Plantae

Phylum : Spermatophyta

Class : Dicotyledonae

Order : Apiales

Family : Apiaceae

Genus : Trachyspermum

Species : Trachyspermum ammi

Vernacular names: This plant is also known by different names in different languages given in Table 1.

Table 1: Some common names of T. ammi in different languages

Languages	Common name
English	Bishop's weed, Carom
Hindi	Ajvain, Ajvan
Sanskrit	Yamini,
Assamese	Jain
Baluchi	Ajowan and Spirca
Gujarati	Ajma, Ajmo
Canada	Oma
Malaysia	Oman
Arabic	Khella or khellin
Persian	nankhah, zenian, khordaneh
South Khorasan	Ajgho
Bengali:	Yamani, Yauvan, Yavan, Javan, Yavani, Yoyana
Marathi	Onva
Kannad	Oma, Yom, Omu
Telugu	Vamu
Tamil	Omam

2.1 Botanical Description and Distribution:

T. ammi is a flowering plant that completes its life cycle in one-year-only. The morphology of T. ammi is a branched, striated stem that grows up to 90cm tall. The inflorescence of T. ammi is a 16-umbel compound umbel type, with each umbel producing up to 16 white flowers with bilobed petals. There are five stamens and an inferior ovary. Upper leaves are smaller with shorter petioles, while lower leaves have longer petioles. The fruit is oval in shape and greyish brown in colour, with two mericarps with visible ridges. The fruit is 2mm long and 1.7mm wide, with a distinct odour and flavour. The seeds are small and grey-green in color¹⁰. This herbaceous plant is widely distributed in temperate regions worldwide, including Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, India, and European regions. It is endogenous to Egypt. In India, T. ammi is primarily grown in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and other western regions¹¹. Rajasthan accounts for over 90% of the country's total production¹². The growing period is October-November and harvested in May-June. This plant can grow on soil containing a lot of salt, typically in dry and semi-arid areas¹³.

2.2 Phytochemistry:

The seed of T. ammi is rich in fiber (11.9%), various types of carbohydrates (38.6%), tannins, glycosides, little bits of moisture (8.9%), protein (15.4%), fat (18.1%), saponins, flavones, and essential mineral matter (7.1%). Chemical components identified in T. ammi seeds contain plenty of calcium, phosphorus, iron, and nicotinic acid. The primary ingredients of the plant (35 percent -60 percent) are thymol and essential oil (2-4 percent), which are found in fruits^14,15. Paracymene, y- terpenine, - and -pinenes, terpinene, dipentene, and carvacrol are some of the nonthymol components found in T. ammi¹⁶. In modest amounts, the plant contains camphene, myrcene, and -3-carene.

The plant's alcoholic extract contains a saponin that is very hygroscopic. A yellow-colored crystalline extract isolated from the fruits comprised glucopyranosyloxythymol¹⁷, glucoside, and 25% oleoresin with 12 percent volatile oil in the form of thymol, -terpinene, paracymene, and pinene¹⁸. Carvone (46%), limonene (38%), and dillapiole (9%) are the three main oil components of T. ammi¹⁹. 6- hydroxycarvacrol 2-O—D-glucopyranoside and 3,5- dihydroxytoluene 3-O—D-galactopyranoside are two new glycosyl components discovered²⁰. The leaves, roots, stems, and fruits of T. ammi contain a broad spectrum of secondary metabolites that can treat various illnesses.

2.3 Ethnobotanical uses:

2.3.1 Seeds:

In India, T. ammi (ajwain) seeds are used in homemade recipes and food-based industries for snack preparation to improve the flavor of drinks, soups, and sauces. According to Persian practitioners, the fumigation form of T. ammi seeds was also used to cure female genital illnesses. A topical decoction of T. ammi seeds has been described as an analgesic for scorpion bite pain. Seeds have traditionally been used to treat respiratory and gastrointestinal problems²¹. The fresh seed of T. ammi is bitter and has a pungent smell. T. ammi seeds possess anthelmintic properties, are carminative and laxative, and can be used to treat abdominal pain. T. ammi (ajwain) seeds are also used to treat tumors, gastritis, abdominal aches, and piles²².

2.3.2 Fruit:

Ajwain fruits cure bronchitis, atonic dyspepsia and flatulence, hysteria, and sore throat, and its essential oil is used as an antibiotic and expectorant to treat pulmonary disorders²³.

2.3.3 Leaves:

The leaf juice of this plant is anti-helminthic and is also used as a natural helminth infestation in animals. According to certain Ayurvedic practitioners, Ajwain powder can provide significant symptomatic relief during an acute attack of the common cold or migraine headache. It also decreases nasal congestion and is beneficial in treating various respiratory ailments such as asthma, bronchitis, and influenza.

2.3.4 Roots:

Roots are carminative, diuretic, and febrifuge and valuable in stomach trouble²⁴.

3. Pharmacological Activities:

The twenty-first century has seen a surge of severe infectious disease outbreaks, including the high pandemic, which influences our health and wealth. Most of them are viruses like COVID-19²⁵, Nipah²⁶, Zika, dengue^27,28,29, Chikungunya^30,31, Cat-que viruses^32, etc. In the case of emerging infectious diseases, there are no medications and specific drugs available for many emerging viruses. Medicinal plants can be beneficial for the effective management of these diseases. Different antiviral compounds or drugs must be immediately identified that is effective against emerging viruses. Natural products are frequently a safe, dependable, and effective source of medications to treat a continuing infection. Phytochemicals give a faster alternative to synthetic drugs. Medicinal plants are effective against viruses such as chikungunya^33,34, COVID-19³⁵, and antiprotozoal activity³⁶ Antimicrobial properties of several medicinal plants can be extremely valuable in the formulation of quick, sensitive, specific, and cost-effective therapeutic agents^37-46 Plant-based treatments should thus be included with other treatments to speed up the development of vaccines and antiviral drugs. Plant extracts used in ethnomedicine have been shown to have antimicrobial efficacy. As a result, medicinal herbs can be used to isolate purified chemicals that are effective against emerging viruses. T. ammi is a famous medicinal plant containing various therapeutic agents, which could be the best source for antimicrobial and the treatment of other non-infection diseases.

T. ammi is already used in Candida infection and treats abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea, and intestinal cramps caused by a pathogenic fungus prevalent in human guts. At a concentration of 0.125-0.25V/V, the aromatic water of T. ammi has antifungal action against this yeast species. T. ammi is found that the aromatic water of T. ammi might be used to treat candidiasis in the gastrointestinal system or as an ingredient in oral hygiene products⁴⁷. T. ammi consumption enhanced stomach acid production fourfold in an in-vivo experiment, which reduced meal transit time, increased digestive enzyme activity, and promoted higher bile acid synthesis⁴⁷. T. ammi oil has some nematicidal activity against Pinewood nematode (PWN) (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus), which causes pine wilt disease. Thymol and carvacrol in T. ammi are primarily responsible for inhibiting PWN activity at LC₅₀ of 0.43mg/ml. A phenolic component of T. ammi, thymol possesses anticancer activity as it reduces the apoptosis of MCF cancerous cell lines.

4. CONCLUSION:

Traditional and ethnomedicinal uses of natural bioactive compounds, particularly those plants based on them, have gained much attention in recent years because they've been thoroughly tested for potency and are generally thought to be safe for human ingestion. Medicinal plants or their products can be very beneficial for managing various emerging infectious diseases, as no antimicrobials or vaccines are available. Trachyspermum ammi is a valuable medicinal plant with a lot of potential for therapeutic agents.

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Received on 27.05.2022 Modified on 07.09.2022

Research J. Pharm. and Tech 2023; 16(7):3285-3288.

DOI: 10.52711/0974-360X.2023.00541