[[File:Khella.jpg|thumb|350px400px|left|Khella]]Other Names: Ammi, Ammi daucoides, Trachyspermum ammi, Ammi visnaga, Ammi Visnage, Bischofskrautfruchte, Biznaga, Daucus visnaga, Fenouil Annuel, Fruits de Khella, Herbe aux Cure-Dents, Herbe aux Gencives, Khellin, Khelline, Noukha, Toothpick Ammi, Toothpick Plant, Visnaga, Visnagae, Visnagafruchte, Visnaga Fruit, Visnagin, Ajwain weed , Picktooth, Toothpick Weed, Daucus visnaga, False Queen Anne’s Lace, Honeyplant, Spanish toothpick, Greater Ammi, Khellin, Carum copticum, Ajmud , Carom, Omum, Ajowan<br>is a small annual plant and it belongs to the cumin and parsley family. This erect plant grows to approximately 120 cm in height. It looks pretty much like celery or wild parsley. Khella bears wispy soft, fine feathery leaves clusters of small white flowers. Tiny fruits bear irregular, grey colored seeds. Seeds have a characteristic odor and are lingering on taste. Khella flowers in about two months and the fruits become ready for harvesting when the flower heads turn brown. Khella is one of the oldest herbs cultivated by the ancient Egyptians. This aromatic shrub is also native to the Mediterranean area of North Africa and the Middle East, and now cultivated in different countries, such as United States, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and others. Khella grows on all kinds of soil but prefers well-drained soil, which consists of easily crumbled or pulverized mixture of clay, silt and sand. It tolerates the shades, but likes sunny places. In herb medicine fruits and seeds are used. The ripe fruits are picked and dried, as well as seeds. The seeds of the herb are the most important part that has medicinal value.<br>
Khella is available in the form of tinctures, tablets, and prescription creams (for vitiligo). In the form of oil (omam) it is almost colorless (slightly brownish) with characteristic odour and a sharp hot taste. Another form of it – Omam water - water distilled from the seeds (which is extremely popular in some Arabian countries, south India, Malaysia and Srilanka. Khella also is an ingredient in many products and herbal remedies.
==Special Precautions of KhellaAjwain==
* Be careful not to confuse khella with its less commonly used relative, [[Bishop's Weed]]. The two species contain some of the same chemicals and work similarly in the body, but khella is more commonly used for heart and lung conditions, and bishop's weed is more commonly used for skin conditions.
* Khella is POSSIBLY UNSAFE when taken in high doses or used for a long time. It can cause side effects including liver problems, nausea, dizziness, constipation, lack of appetite, headache, itching, trouble sleeping, and skin sensitivity to sunlight (photosensitization).
* Medications that increase sensitivity to sunlight (Photosensitizing drugs) interacts with KHELLA
==The benefits and uses of Khella Ajwain are==Bishop’s Weed contains thymol (35 to 60%), which has antibacterial, anti-fungal, and preservative properties. Khella’ herbal properties conclude also antispasmodic, smooth muscle relaxing action. It is a non-stimulating bronchial dilator and vasodilator. Its other important constituents are: the essential oil (2.5 to 5% in the dried fruits), isothymol iso[[thymol]] (50%), α-pinene, p-cymene, γ-terpinene and limonene. In fruits there are also coumarins and furocoumarins (psoralens), the most important of which are khellin (1%) and visnagin (0.3%), and a small amount (less than 0.03%) of a volatile oil.
* Kidney Stones : Several preliminary studies suggest that ammi visnaga may help protect against kidney stones. In a 2011 study published in Urological Research, for instance, tests on rats revealed that treatment with ammi visnaga helped prevent the buildup of minerals known to form kidney stones.
* Diabetes : Ammi visnaga shows promise in the treatment of diabetes, according to an animal-based study published in the Journal of Pharmacotherapy in 2002. In tests on diabetic rats, the study's authors found that ammi visnaga helped reduce blood sugar levels.