EVALUATION OF THE YIELDS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF ESSENTIAL OILS, FIXED OILS AND EXTRACTS OBTAINED USING CONVENTIONAL METHODS FROM NIGELLA SATIVA L. AND NIGELLA DAMASCENA L. SEEDS

Objective: Yields and antioxidant properties of essential oils, fixed oils, and extracts from Nigella sativa L. and Nigella damascena L. seeds were evaluated using conventional extraction methods with solvents of different polarity. Material and Method: The seeds from both species were divided into three segments for the production of fixed oil, essential oil, and essential oil from extracts. Fixed oils and extracts were obtained using Soxhlet extraction with n-hexane, petroleum ether, acetone, chloroform, and methanol, followed by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger apparatus to obtain essential oils from the extracts. Essential oils were also obtained from powdered seeds by hydrodistillation. Oils and extract yields were calculated, and antioxidant activities were evaluated using DPPH. and ABTS+ assays. Result and Discussion: For both species, the continuous extraction method with n-hexane produced the highest yield and the essential oils were obtained only from these extracts. Notably, extracting the essential oil directly from the seed resulted in low yields. N. sativa exhibited higher essential oil yields than N. damascena; however, the obtained yields were inadequate for activity studies. Antioxidant assays revealed that the ABTS⁺ method was more discriminative, with acetone extracts showing higher activity. Overall, N. sativa demonstrated greater antioxidant activity compared to N. damascena.