Ajwain

Ajwain, the small thyme-scented seed of Indian kitchens, rich in thymol and long used for gas and indigestion; this pack uses its crystals, yavani satva.

Trachyspermum ammi is an annual herb of the carrot family, grown widely in Rajasthan and Gujarat, with feathery leaves and small white flower umbels. Its tiny, ridged, greyish-brown fruits, sold as seeds, are fried in ghee for tadka and baked into parathas. Their oil is rich in thymol, which crystallises as ajwain ka phool, called yavani satva in Ayurveda: the form this pack names.

Ayurveda and Indian kitchens use ajwain for gas, bloating and indigestion. A 2012 review describes carminative, antispasmodic and antimicrobial activity, almost all of it in laboratory and animal studies; trials in people are few. Concentrated thymol is potent, and large amounts can be harmful.

• Gas and bloating
• Digestive comfort
• Source of thymol
• Indian kitchen spice