Brown Mustard
Seed Profile
Also known as
Brassica nigra, black mustard, Chinese mustard, and Indian mustard. Brassica integrifolia and Brassica juncea
have similar taste and medicinal properties and are also sold as brown mustard.
Introduction
Strictly speaking, the
Brassica nigra often sold as brown mustard is a "black" mustard. The reason it is called "brown" is that
the other species of black mustard are difficult to harvest and are seldom available in commerce. Brown mustard is a flowering
plant in the same family as arugula, horseradish, watercress, and wasabi. It shares with them a hot and pungent group of chemicals
known as isothiocyanates. The isothiocyanates act as defense system against grazing animals by releasing burning chemicals
when the plant is chewed. They destroy animal tissues. They would also destroy the tissues of the plant except that they are
stored in a form that is only activated when the plant is disturbed
Constituents
Like all seeds, brown
mustard seed contains large amounts of oil. The term "mustard oil" can refer to the expressed oil, used in cooking,
or to an extract of the flavoring principles, the isothiocyanates. Brown mustard seed contains about 1% sinigrin (allylglucosinolate),
which is converted to the hot and pungent allyl isothiocyanate by the action of the enzyme myrosinase.
Parts Used
The
whole or ground seed.
Typical Preparations
This is the herb most frequently used in mustard plasters. The ancient
Greeks and Romans used brown mustard seed as a bath additive to treat arthritic pain. The herb is also used whole in cooking
or ground in other medicinal and culinary preparations.
Summary
Mustard plasters relieve swelling by increasing circulation near
the surface of the skin. They relieve pain by acting as a counter-irritant, "distracting" the central nervous system
from pain of other origins. The "burn" of a hot mustard plaster stimulates breathing by activating a pathway fro
the skin to the lungs through the central nervous system. Mustard seed plasters are most appropriate for a relatively strong
person suffering congestion or swelling; they should not be used on anyone who is confined to bed over a period of months
or years. Dr. James Duke, who, in his seventies, still has a full head of hair, notes that mustard plasters were used in frontier
American medicine not only to treat chest congestion but also to prevent baldness. Ground brown mustard seed added to food
inhibits spoilage by slowing the growth of E. coli, including the more dangerous O:157 strain of the bacterium. Brown mustard
seed sprouts have their greatest antioxidant content on the fifth day after germination.
Precautions
Don't
get ground brown mustard seed in your eyes. If you do, immediately rinse with warm (not hot or cold) tap water.
For educational purposes only This information has not been evaluated
by the Food and Drug Administration.
This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
