Nigella sativa in the form of ThymoQuinone Formula (TQF) with 1.7% thymoquinone and the quantity of 3,000 mg per day (3 capsules with 500 mg twice a day) for 14 days completely eliminated hospitalizations from COVID-19 to 0.0% vs. 4.3% in the control group, according to the clinical study disclosed in Hassan Bencheqroun et al., “A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ThymoQuinone formula (TQF) for treating outpatient SARS-CoV-2,” Pathogens, 7 May 2022, 11(5), 551, https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11050551, JIF 4.531 (top 42% journals in Microbiology).
Nigella sativa oil in the quantity of 1,000 mg per day (a capsule with 500 mg twice a day) for 10 days eliminated 75% of hospitalizations from COVID-19 compared to the control group according to the clinical study disclosed in Abdulrahman E. Koshak et al., “Nigella sativa for the treatment of COVID-19: An open-label randomized controlled clinical trial,” Complementary Therapies in Medicine, September 2021, 61, 102769, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2021.102769, JIF 3.335 (top 40% journals in Integrative & Complementary Medicine).
Nigella sativa in the quantity of 40 mg/kg (3,000 mg for 75 kg person weight) per day for 14 days completely eliminated deaths from COVID-19 to 0.0% vs. 5.4% in the control group, according to the clinical study disclosed in Kadhim Ali Abbas Al-Haidari et al., “Clinical trial of black seeds against COVID – 19 in Kirkuk City/Iraq,” Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, July-September 2021, 15(3), 3393-3399, https://doi.org/10.37506/ijfmt.v15i3.15825, JIF N/A.
The seeds of Nigella sativa L. (NS), a plant of the Runanculaceae family, are used in traditional medicine in North Africa and the Middle East for the treatment of diabetes. This study evaluated the effects of NS seed crude ethanol extract on insulin secretion in INS832/13 and β TC-tet lines of pancreatic β-cells and on glucose disposal by C2C12 skeletal muscle cells and 3T3-L1 adipocytes. An 18-h treatment with NS amplified glucose-stimulated insulin secretion by more than 35% without affecting sensitivity to glucose. NS treatment also accelerated β-cell proliferation. An 18-h treatment with NS increased basal glucose uptake by 55% (equivalent to approximately two-fold the effect of 100 nM insulin) in muscle cells and approximately by 400% (equal to the effect of 100 nM insulin) in adipocytes; this effect was perfectly additive to that of insulin in adipocytes. Finally, NS treatment of pre-adipocytes undergoing differentiation accelerated triglyceride accumulation comparably with treatment with 10 μM rosiglitazone. It is concluded that the well-documented in vivo antihyperglycemic effects of NS seed extract are attributable to a combination of therapeutically relevant insulinotropic and insulin-like properties, according to Ali Benhaddou-Andaloussi et al., “Antidiabetic Activity of Nigella sativa. Seed Extract in Cultured Pancreatic β-cells, Skeletal Muscle Cells, and Adipocytes,” Pharmaceutical Biology, 46:1-2, 96-104, https://doi.org/10.1080/13880200701734810, JIF 3.889 (top 24% journals in Plant Sciences).
Nigella sativa seeds have wide therapeutic effects and have been reported to have significant effects against many ailments such as skin diseases, jaundice, gastrointestinal problems, anorexia, conjunctivitis, dyspepsia, rheumatism, diabetes, hypertension, intrinsic hemorrhage, paralysis, amenorrhea, anorexia, asthma, cough, bronchitis, headache, fever, influenza and eczema. Thymoquinone (TQ) is one of the most active constituent and has different beneficial properties. Focus on antimicrobial effects, different extracts of Nigella sativa as well as TQ, have a broad antimicrobial spectrum including Gram-negative, Gram-positive bacteria, viruses, parasites, schistosoma and fungi. The effectiveness of Nigella sativa seeds and TQ is variable and depends on species of target microorganisms, according to Fatemeh Forouzanfar et al., “Black cumin (Nigella sativa) and its constituent (thymoquinone): a review on antimicrobial effects,” Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences, 2014; 17:929-938, https://doi.org/10.22038/ijbms.2015.3849, JIF 2.532 (top 73% journals in Pharmacology & Pharmacy).
Nigella sativa (Family Ranunculaceae) is widely used medicinal plant throughout the world. Nigella sativa is referred in the Middle East as a part of an overall holistic approach to health. Pharmacological properties of Nigella sativa including immune stimulant, hypotensive, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, antioxidant, hypoglycemic, spasmolytic and bronchodilator have been shown. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress are known as the major causes of many diseases such as liver injury and many substances and drugs can induce oxidative damage by generation of ROS in the body. Many pharmacological properties of Nigella sativa are known to be attributed to the presence of thymoquinone and its antioxidant effects. Thymoquinone protects liver from injury via different mechanisms including inhibition of iron-dependent lipid peroxidation, elevation in total thiol content and glutathione level, radical scavengering, increasing the activity of quinone reductase, catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione transferase, inhibition of NF-κB activity and inhibition of both cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase. Therefore, this review aimed to highlight the roles of ROS in liver diseases and the mechanisms of Nigella sativa in prevention of liver injury, according to Hamid Mollazadeh et al., “The protective effect of Nigella sativa against liver injury: a review,” Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences 2014; 17:958-966, https://doi.org/10.22038/ijbms.2015.3852, JIF 2.532 (top 73% journals in Pharmacology & Pharmacy).
Nigella sativa seeds have a lot of nutritional and medicinal benefits and contain many bioactive compounds like thymoquinone, α-hederin, alkaloids, flavonoids, antioxidants, fatty acids and many other compounds that have positive effects on curing of different diseases. Several medicinal properties of Nigella sativa like its anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, antioxidant activities and many others are well acknowledged. However, this article focuses on activity of Nigella sativa against cardiovascular diseases and cancer. For gathering required data the authors went through vast number of articles using search engines like Science direct, ELSEVIER, Pub Med, Willey on Line Library and Google scholar and the findings were classified on the basis of relevance of the topic and were reviewed in the article. Nigella sativa has found effective in controlling number of cardiovascular diseases and various cancers both in vivo and in vitro studies, according to Hammad Shafiq et al., “Cardio-protective and anti-cancer therapeutic potential of Nigella sativa,” Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences, December 2014; 17(12):967-979, https://doi.org/10.22038/ijbms.2015.3853, JIF 2.532 (top 73% journals in Pharmacology & Pharmacy).
Nigella sativa has anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, antioxidant activities and many other medicinal properties, and can be used against cardiovascular diseases, according to F. Shakeri et al., “Cardiovascular effects of Nigella Sativa L. and its Constituents,” Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, November-December 2018, 80(6), 971-983, https://doi.org/10.4172/pharmaceutical-sciences.1000447, JIF 0.664 (top 97% journals in Pharmacology & Pharmacy).