Ajwain

{{short description|Species of plant}} {{About|the plant in the family Apiaceae cultivated for its seeds |the plant in the family Lamiaceae cultivated for its leaves|Coleus amboinicus}} {{speciesbox |image=Carom Flowers.jpg |image_caption = Flowers of ''Trachyspermum ammi'' |image_alt = Flowers of Trachyspermum ammi |genus = Trachyspermum |species = ammi |authority = (L.) Sprague ex Turrill |synonyms = * ''Ammi copticum'' L. * ''Carum copticum'' (L.) Link * ''Trachyspermum copticum'' Link * ''Sison ammi'' L. |synonyms_ref = <ref name=GRIN>{{GRIN | access-date = 11 December 2017}}</ref><ref>[https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=522739 ITIS entry for ''Trachyspermum ammi'']</ref> }}

'''Ajwain''' or '''ajowan''' (''Trachyspermum ammi'')<ref name=oed>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ajowan|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713074340/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ajowan|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 13, 2012|title=ajowan - Definition of ajowan in English by Oxford Dictionaries|website=Oxford Dictionaries - English}}</ref> ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|dʒ|ə|w|ɒ|n}}) —also known as '''ajowan{{nbsp}}caraway''', '''thymol seeds''', '''bishop's weed''', or '''carom'''—is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae.<ref name="dhcp">{{cite web |title=Ajwain |url=http://dhcrop.bsmrau.net/ajwain/?doing_wp_cron=1614963208.0756139755249023437500 |publisher=Digital Herbarium of Crop Plants |access-date=5 March 2021 |date=4 October 2016}}</ref> Both the leaves and the seed‑like fruit (often mistakenly called seeds) of the plant are consumed by humans. The name "bishop's weed" also is a common name for other plants. The "seed" (i.e., the fruit) is often confused with lovage seed.<ref name="Green2006">{{cite book|author=Aliza Green|title=Field Guide to Herbs & Spices: How to Identify, Select, and Use Virtually Every Seasoning at the Market|url=https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetoherb0000gree|url-access=registration|date=January 2006|publisher=Quirk Books|isbn=978-1-59474-082-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetoherb0000gree/page/116 116]–117}}</ref>

==Description== [[File:Carom.jpg|thumb|Ajwain fruit (schizocarps)]]

Ajwain's small, oval, seed-like fruits are pale brown schizocarps, which resemble the seeds of other plants in the family Apiaceae such as caraway, cumin and fennel.<ref name="drugs">{{cite web |title=Bishop's weed |url=https://www.drugs.com/npp/bishop-s-weed.html |publisher=Drugs.com |access-date=18 October 2023 |date=29 July 2022}}</ref> They have a bitter and pungent taste, with a flavor similar to anise and oregano. They smell like thyme because they also contain thymol, but they are more aromatic and less subtle in taste, as well as being somewhat bitter and pungent.<ref name=drugs/> Even a small number of fruits tend to dominate the flavor of a dish.<ref name="Green2006" />

==Cultivation and production== Ajwain grows in dry, barren soil in its indigenous regions of India, Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of northern Africa.<ref name=drugs/> Gujarat and Rajasthan are regions in India well-known for cultivating ajwain.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bairwa|first1=Ranjan|last2=Sodha|first2=R. S.|last3=Rajawat|first3=B. S.|date=2012|title=''Trachyspermum ammi''|journal=Pharmacognosy Reviews|volume=6|issue=11|pages=56–60|doi=10.4103/0973-7847.95871|issn=0973-7847|pmc=3358968|pmid=22654405 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

==Culinary uses== The fruits are rarely eaten raw; they are commonly dry-roasted or fried in ghee (clarified butter). This allows the spice to develop a more subtle and complex aroma. It is widely used in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, often as part of a chaunk (also called a ''tarka''), a mixture of spices – sometimes with a little chopped garlic or onion – fried in oil or clarified butter, which is used to flavor a dish at the end of cooking. In Afghanistan, the fruits are sprinkled over bread and biscuits.<ref name="Davidson2014">{{cite book|author=Alan Davidson|title=The Oxford Companion to Food|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RL6LAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA9|year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-967733-7|pages=9–}}</ref>

Other applications of ajwain include incorporating the seeds in specific types of breads, such as naans and parathas. The seeds can also be used as a mouth freshener when mixed with lemon juice and black pepper and then dried, or can be used as an ingredient in hot tea.<ref name=drugs/>

The seeds are also used in Ethiopian cuisine, where they are called ''netch azmud'', "Ethiopian caraway", or "white cumin".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Netch Azmud |url=https://spicelibrary.org/spice/netch-azmud/ |access-date=2025-08-06 |website=The Spice Library |language=en-US}}</ref>

==In herbalism== Ajwain is used in herbalism practices, such as Ayurveda, in the belief that it can treat various disorders.<ref name=drugs/><ref>{{Cite book|title=Handbook of medicinal herbs|last=Duke|first=James A.|date=2002|publisher=CRC Press|others=Duke, James A., 1929-|isbn=978-0849312847|edition= 2nd|location=Boca Raton, FL|oclc=48876592}}</ref> However, there is no good evidence that ajwain is effective as a therapy for treating any disease.<ref name=drugs/>

===Adverse effects=== Pregnant women should avoid ajwain due to potential adverse effects on fetal development, and its use is discouraged while breastfeeding.<ref name=drugs/> In high amounts taken orally, ajwain can result in fatal poisoning.<ref name=drugs/> People taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or antiplatelet medications are susceptible to adverse effects from ajwain ingestion, as ajwain has anti-clotting activity of its own.<ref name=drugs/>

===Essential oil=== Hydrodistillation of ajwain fruits yields an essential oil consisting primarily of thymol, γ-terpinene, ''p''-cymene, and more than 20 trace compounds which are predominantly terpenoids.<ref name=drugs/><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Singh|first1=Gurdip|last2=Maurya|first2=Sumitra|last3=Catalan|first3=C.|last4=de Lampasona|first4=M. P.|title=Chemical Constituents, Antifungal and Antioxidative Effects of Ajwain Essential Oil and Its Acetone Extract|journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry|date=June 2004|volume=52|issue=11|pages=3292–3296|doi=10.1021/jf035211c|pmid=15161185|bibcode=2004JAFC...52.3292S |hdl=11336/105641|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Edible Apiaceae Category:Antiflatulents Category:Spices Category:Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine Category:Apiaceae Category:Indian spices