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Degree Name

MS (Master of Science)

Program

Chemistry

Date of Award

8-2002

Committee Chair or Co-Chairs

Ismail O. Kady

Committee Members

W. Scott Champney, Jeffrey G. Wardeska, Hamid S. Kasmai

Abstract

In the past two decades, few reports have confirmed the various antibacterial activities of total extract from the seeds of Nigella sativa (Black cumin). In attempts to identify the active ingredients in this extract, the seeds were extracted with hexane. The volatile oil obtained from the crude extract was shown to contain at least three distinct compounds, thymoquinone, p-cymene, and α-pinene, as confirmed by GC/MS and NMR spectroscopy. While p-cymene and α-pinene showed no antibacterial activities, thymoquinone, exhibited remarkable inhibition of the growth of various strains of bacteria. For instance, the IC50 and the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) for thymoquinone were found to be 1.31 μg/mL and 3.6 μg/mL respectively, when tested against the gram-positive bacteria, S. aureus. It is also found that thymoquinone significantly inhibites the protein and RNA synthesis in S. aureus.

Document Type

Thesis - restricted

Copyright

Copyright by the authors.

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