A REVIEW ON THE THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF NIGELLA SATIVA: PHYTOCHEMISTRY, PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVE

Nigella sativa L. (black seed or black cumin) is an annual herb of the family Ranunculaceae that has been used for many centuries in Unani, Ayurvedic and other traditional systems of medicine. Its seeds contain fixed oil, proteins, alkaloids, saponins and a small amount of volatile oil, and thymoquinone is the most widely studied active compound. This review gathers information from open-access articles on the phytochemistry and pharmacological activities of N. sativa. Laboratory and animal studies describe antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, neuroprotective, cardiovascular, hepatoprotective and respiratory effects. Several small human trials support some of these effects, but the results are not uniform and many trials are small. The poor water solubility and low oral bioavailability of thymoquinone are major hurdles, and nanoformulations are being developed to overcome them. In summary, N. sativa is a promising source of lead compounds, but larger and better-designed clinical trials and standardised products are needed before firm clinical recommendations can be made.