Black mustard is a plant. The seed and oil from the seed are used to make medicine.
Black mustard oil is used for the common cold, painful joints and muscles (rheumatism), and arthritis.
Black mustard seed is used for causing vomiting, relieving water retention (edema) by increasing urine production, and increasing appetite.
Some people make a paste by mixing ground black mustard seed with warm water.
They pack the paste in cloth and apply the cloth directly to the skin as a “mustard plaster.” This preparation is used for treating pneumonia, pain and swelling (inflammation) of the lining of the lungs (pleurisy), arthritis, lower back pain (lumbago), and aching feet.In foods, black mustard leaves (greens) are used in salads and other dishes.
Origin and Distribution
Mustard seeds can be white, yellow, black or brown, and are derived from three different plants. The black seeds are exceedingly pungent; they’re also difficult to harvest, volatile and thus more expensive. White seeds tend to be much milder but can have the fieriness of the black, depending on how they’re prepared. Black or brown mustard seeds are widely used in Indian, especially Bengali and Southern Asian, cooking. When fried, the taste is nutty rather than fiery.