A nutraceutical combination of Cinnamomum cassia & Nigella sativa for Type 1 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

BackgroundNigella sativa (black cumin) and Cinnamomum cassia (Cinnamon) are an integral part of the Indian diet, and have also been sourced in the ayurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine, for their medicinal properties. Both the herbs individually have been successfully evaluated for their preliminary antidiabetic potential.ObjectiveHerein, we dived deeper into antidiabetic properties of these herbs, by investigating the combinatorial effect of both herbs, on parameters of diabetes and further, as an adjunct to metformin therapy, for assessing the pharmacodynamics of herb-drug interaction in diabetes mellitus. The objectives were to screen the combinatorial extract of Nigella sativa & Cinnamomum cassia’s (NSCCe) alone and in combination with metformin for its potential in mitigating symptoms of diabetes mellitus-alone, and as an adjunct therapy with metformin.Materials and methodsDiabetes was induced in the animals by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. Animals were divided into seven groups with 6 animals each: Vehicle control, Negative control, Positive control (Metformin 50 mg/kg), treatment groups 4 and 5 received NSCCe at the doses of 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg, respectively. Groups 6 and 7 received the same doses, in combination with Metformin (50 and 25 mg/kg). Following a 28-day dosing period, plasma glucose levels, lipid profile and renal function profile were evaluated. Histopathological examinations were performed to measure any morphological change in kidney, liver and pancreatic tissue.ResultsCombination of Nigella sativa & Cinnamomum cassia extracts significantly normalized plasma glucose levels, lipid profile and kidney function parameters, compared to the diabetic control group. Animals treated with the combinatorial extract and metformin showed more prominent effects on these parameters. Significant reversal in the pancreatic cell damage was observed on treatment with NSCCe.ConclusionThis study generates evidence to support Nigella sativa & Cinnamomum cassia as an adjunctive in diabetes treatment protocols.

Nigella sativa L. (Black Cumin): A Promising Natural Remedy for Wide Range of Illnesses

“…Significant effects were observed in animals that received combined extract and metformin on these parameters. A substantial reversal of the histopathological pancreatic cell injury was also observed in animals receiving the concomitant extracts of NSCCe [46]. The marked antidiabetic activity upon three-month supplementation of N. sativa (2 g/day) along with oral antidiabetic agent in type 2 DM patients has also been reported.…”

“…Generally, the possible antidiabetic mechanisms of N. sativa might be mediated via modulation of oxidative status (either through upregulation of endogenous antioxidants or reduction of oxidative species) [45, 47], attenuation of inflammation [45], improvement of lipid profiles, increased good cholesterol (HDL-c), while reducing bad cholesterols (LDL-c, TC, and TG) and body weight [44, 46, 51].…”

Revisiting pharmacological potentials of Nigella sativa seed: A promising option for COVID‐19 prevention and cure

“…A mixture of N. sativa and Cinnamomum cassia improves serum glucose concentrations, lipid profile, and renal function both in streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced diabetic rats and other animals (Kaur, Invally, Khan, & Jadhav, 2018). It is also evident that N. sativa decreases fasting plasma glucose, hemoglobin A1c, TBARBs, and increases total antioxidant capacity including SOD and glutathione levels (Kaatabi et al, 2015).…”

“…Improved insulin levels, lipid profile, increased pancreatic, and hepatic antioxidant enzymes with increased glycogen contents and average pancreatic islet extent can be achieved by black cumin seed oil (Abdelrazek, Kilany, Muhammad, Tag, & Abdelazim, 2018). Modulating oxidative status (El Rabey, Al‐Seeni, & Bakhashwain, 2017), diminishing inflammation (El Rabey et al, 2017), controlling the glucose homeostasis and serum lipid profiles (Daryabeygi‐Khotbehsara, Golzarand, Ghaffari, & Djafarian, 2017), rising in good cholesterol (HDL‐c), with concomitant elimination of bad cholesterols (LDL‐c, TC, and TG) as well as body mass (Daryabeygi‐Khotbehsara et al, 2017; Kaur et al, 2018) are very potential aspects of N. sativa as an antidiabetic agent.…”

Optimum Extraction Technology for the Seed Oil of Nigella sativa L.

“…According to the previous researches, many biological activities of the seed oil are discovered, such as irritating the digestive system, expelling wind, relieving pain, diuretic e ect, sweating, antiworm, antiin ammatory, treating asthma, tonifying kidney, invigorating brain, strengthening spleen, antioxidant, and so on [6][7][8][9][10]. Recently, some new functions of the seed oil, antitumor, antidiabetic, anticholesterol, and antiepilepsy are reported [2,[11][12][13][14][15]. In the seed, linoleic acid as unsaturated fatty acids is essential to our health [16].…”