Effect of Nigella sativa on general health and immune system in young healthy volunteers; a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded clinical trial

Abstract

Nigella sativa (N. sativa) is traditionally used as an immune enhancer in different communities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of N. sativa on immunity related parameters in young healthy subjects. This study was a double blind, randomized, placebo controlled clinical trial. Fifty-two healthy subjects (48 male and 4 female) 18-25 years old were enrolled in the study. They were randomly divided into four groups; the first received charcoal capsules and served as controls and the other three received 0.5, 1 g, and 2 g of powdered N. sativa capsules, respectively. Two blood samples were obtained from all participant, before initiation of the trial and at the end of the four weeks intervention. One sample was used for routine health screening by evaluating liver and renal functions as well as complete blood count and differential. The second sample was used to measure certain cytokines including; IL-1, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, and TNF. A third and fourth samples were obtained from the last cohort of subjects before and after treatment; the third was used for measuring immunoglobulins and CD profile and the fourth for evaluating certain gene expressions (INF-γ, NF-κ-B, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-13, IL-8, and IL-6). Only 1 g dose of N. sativa produced a significant elevation in total lymphocyte count, CD3+ and CD4+ counts. One gram N. sativa increased the absolute lymphocyte count from 1850±0.24 to 2170±0.26 (p=0.008), CD3+ from 1184.4±75.60 to 1424±114.51 (p=0.009), and CD4+ from 665.6±141.66 to 841±143.36 (p=0.002). This elevation in T cells was lost by increasing the dose of N. sativa to 2g. The rest of the parameters were not changed significantly in all doses. The results show a promising immunopotentiation effect of N. sativa by elevating helper T cells and the optimum dose for young age group seems to be 1 g.

Antihypertensive effects of Nigella sativa supplementation: An updated systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

“…Totally, 1527 subjects were included, and the dates of publications were between 2008 and 2022. Among the 22 studies, 19 were parallel studies (Amin et al, 2015; Bin Sayeed et al, 2013; Datau et al, 2010; Dehkordi & Kamkhah, 2008; Fallah Huseini et al, 2013; Hadi et al, 2021; Ibrahim et al, 2014; Mahdavi et al, 2015; Naeimi et al, 2020; Qidwai et al, 2009; Rachman & Darmawan, 2017; Rashidmayvan et al, 2019; Rashidmayvan et al, 2022; Rizka et al, 2018; Salem et al, 2021; Sayeed et al, 2014; Shoaei‐Hagh et al, 2021; Siddiqui et al, 2022; Tavakoli‐Rouzbehani et al, 2021), and three were crossover (Latiff et al, 2014; Mohtashami, 2019; Razmpoosh et al, 2021). The sample size ranged from 32 to 200 participants and the duration of the study ranged from 4 to 16 weeks.…”

“…The baseline BMI varied between 21.8 and 32.4 kg/m 2 . Studies were conducted in the following countries: Iran (Dehkordi & Kamkhah, 2008; Fallah Huseini et al, 2013; Hadi et al, 2021; Mahdavi et al, 2015; Mohtashami, 2019; Naeimi et al, 2020; Rashidmayvan et al, 2019; Rashidmayvan et al, 2022; Razmpoosh et al, 2021; Shoaei‐Hagh et al, 2021; Tavakoli‐Rouzbehani et al, 2021), Saudi Arabia (Badar et al, 2017; Salem et al, 2021), Indonesia (Datau et al, 2010; Rachman & Darmawan, 2017; Rizka et al, 2018), Pakistan (Amin et al, 2015; Qidwai et al, 2009; Siddiqui et al, 2022), Malaysia (Ibrahim et al, 2014; Latiff et al, 2014), and Bangladesh (Bin Sayeed et al, 2013; Sayeed et al, 2014). N. sativa in forms of powder (doses from 0.5 to 3 g/day) and oil (doses from 0.1 to 4.2 g/day) were used in the studies.…”

A proprietary black cumin oil extract (Nigella sativa) (BlaQmax®) modulates stress-sleep-immunity axis safely: Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study

“…The CD4/CD8 ratio is a direct marker of immune status, showing a decreasing trend in the placebo group and a significant increase in the BCO-5 group. In a previous study, Salem et al reported a significant immunomodulatory effect of black cumin seed powder, with a significant increase in immunoglobulin, CD4+ cell absolute count, and lymphocyte counts ( 52 ). Certain animal studies have also reported immunomodulatory effects of black cumin ( 53 – 55 ).…”

Effect of Nigella sativa on general health and immune system in young healthy volunteers; a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded clinical trial

“…Dryad: Underlying data for ‘Effect of Nigella sativa on general health and immune system in young healthy volunteers; a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded clinical trial’. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.00000004b 39 …”

“…Underlying data Dryad: Underlying data for 'Effect of Nigella sativa on general health and immune system in young healthy volunteers; a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded clinical trial'. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.00000004b 39 Data are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Zero "No rights reserved" data waiver (CC0 1.0 Public domain dedication).…”