A review of Neuropharmacology Effects ofNigella sativaand Its Main Component, Thymoquinone

Abstract

Neuropharmacology is the scientific study of drug effect on nervous system. In the last few years, different natural plants and their active constituents have been used in neurological therapy. The availability, lower price, and less toxic effects of herbal medicines compared with synthetic agents make them as simple and excellent choice in the treatment of nervous diseases. Nigella sativa, which belongs to the botanical family of Ranunculaceae, is a widely used medicinal plant all over the world. In traditional and modern medicines several beneficial properties have been attributed to N. sativa and its main component, thymoquinone (TQ). In this review, various studies in scientific databases regarding the neuropharmacological aspects of N. sativa and TQ have been introduced. Results of these studies showed that N. sativa and TQ have several properties including anticonvulsant, antidepressant, anxiolytic, anti-ischemic, analgesic, antipsychotic, and memory enhancer. Furthermore, its protective effects against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer, Parkinson and multiple sclerosis have been discussed. Although there are many studies indicating the beneficial actions of this plant in nervous system, the number of research projects relating to the human reports is rare. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Effects of Thymoquinone on Small-Molecule Metabolites in a Rat Model of Cerebral Ischemia Reperfusion Injury Assessed using MALDI-MSI

“…In a rotenone-induced Parkinson's disease model, thymoquinone was shown to alleviate mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress to protect the dopaminergic neurons [8]. Thymoquinone also enhanced the memory and exerted antipsychotic effects via the reduction of dopamine levels and acetylcholinesterase activity and the increase of glutathione levels [9]. In addition, in a model of transient forebrain ischemia, thymoquinone-loaded nanoparticles were shown to alleviate hippocampal damage caused by ischemia [8].…”

Dissecting the Potential Roles of Nigella sativa and Its Constituent Thymoquinone on the Prevention and on the Progression of Alzheimer's Disease

“…Important findings suggest that TQ can be considered an additive treatment option in neurological and neurosurgical practice (Elmaci and Altinoz, 2016 ). Detailed description on the protective roles of N. sativa and TQ in multiple disorders have been also described by Javidi et al ( 2016 ), and Sahak et al ( 2016 ). Moreover, the authors identified in N. sativa a potential candidate for the treatment of physiological and neurological disorders.…”

Review on Clinical Trials of Black Seed (Nigella sativa ) and Its Active Constituent, Thymoquinone

“…NS was also found to be able to relieve the symptoms of or cure patients with several diseases, such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, diabetes [5, 20, 21], asthma [3], convulsion [22–24], and natural and chemical toxicities [25, 26]. Additionally, a suggestion was made that NS and TQ utilization could prevent many disorders [6], including neurobehavioral [27], kidney [28, 29], and liver [4] disorders. For these reasons, in this review, we investigated the clinical uses of NS and TQ in the prevention and treatment of different diseases and morbidity conditions in humans.…”