Evaluation of the therapeutic effect of <em>Nigella sativa</em> crude oil and its blend with omega-3 fatty acid-rich oils in a modified hepatorenal syndrome model in rats

Abstract

SUMMARY:In the present study, the hepato and reno-protective effect of Nigella sativa crude oil and its binary blend with omega-3 fatty acid-rich oils (fish and flaxseed oils) was studied in a modified hepatorenal syndrome model (MHRS) in rats. MHRS was induced through feeding a high fructose diet followed by an intraperitoneal injection of galactosamine hydrochloride. Nigella oil and its different blends were given as a daily oral dose to MHRS rats. Two control groups of MHRS and normal healthy rats were run. Different biochemical and nutritional parameters were assessed. The induction of MHRS produced liver and kidney dysfunction, and elevated oxidative stress, an inflammatory biomarker, endothelin 1, and plasma cholesterol. Reduced plasma high density lipoprotein cholesterol, albumin and Ca and elevated urinary N-acetyl-β-D-Glucosaminidase and liver fats were noticed. The administration of Nigella crude oil that originally had 0.2% total omega-3 fatty acids or its blend with fish oil (17.9% omega-3) or flaxseed oil (42.1% omega-3) significantly improved all biochemical parameters of MHRS. There was no significant difference in the biochemical parameters among the different oil treated groups regardless of the omega-3 fatty acid content. This may point out to the potential profound effect of the volatile oil fraction of Nigella crude oil which may compensates for its low omega-3 content. KEYWORDS: Hepatorenal syndrome; Nigella crude oil; Oil blends; Omega-3 fatty acidsRESUMEN: Evaluación del efecto terapéutico del aceite crudo de Nigella sativa y su mezcla con aceites ricos en ácidos grasos omega-3 en un modelo de síndrome hepatorenal modificado en ratas. En el presente estudio, el efecto hepato-y reno-protector de aceites crudos de Nigella sativa y su mezcla binaria con aceites ricos en ácidos grasos omega-3 (pescado y aceites de linaza) fue estudiado en un modelo modificado de síndrome hepatorenal (MHRS) en ratas. MHRS fue inducido a través de la alimentación de una dieta alta en fructosa seguido de la inyección intraperitoneal de clorhidrato de galactosamina. Diferentes aceites fueron suministrados como dosis oral diaria a ratas con MHRS. Se realizaron dos grupos de control de MHRS y ratas sanas normales. Se evaluaron diferentes parámetros bioquímicos y nutricionales. La inducción de la MHRS produce disfunción hepática y renal, elevado estrés oxidativo y biomarcadores inflamatorios, endotelina 1, y colesterol en plasma. Se observó una reducción del colesterol plasmatico de lipoproteínas de alta densidad, albúmina y Ca, elevación en orina de N-acetil-β-D-glucosaminidasa y de la grasa del hígado. La administración de aceite crudo de Nigella que tiene un 0,2% de ácidos grasos omega-3 totales o su mezcla con aceite de pescado (17,9% de omega-3) o aceite de linaza (42,1% de omega-3) mejoró significativamente todos los parámetros bioquímicos de MHRS. No hubo diferencia significativa en los parámetros bioquímicos entre los diferentes grupos tratados con los aceites ensayados independientemente del contenido de áci...

Potentials of enhancing the physicochemical and functional characteristics of <em>Nigella sativa</em> oil by using the screw pressing technique for extraction

“…This oil was chosen among other functional oils due to its dietary characteristics as a rich source of essential fatty acids such as linoleic (54.0-70.0%) and oleic (15.0-24.0%), (Tulukcu, 2011). In addition, the oil has protective and therapeutic potentials against some liver diseases as evident from previous work by our group (Al-Okbi et al, 2015;Al-Okbi et al, 2013). N. sativa oil also has a protective effect against oxidative stress (Develi et al, 2014) and other pre-clinical and clinical effects (Gholamnezhad et al, 2016).…”

“…sativa crude oil was also extracted from the same batch of seeds by using a commercial scale expeller screw pressing machine located at the same herbal retail store from which the seeds were purchased (Al-Okbi et al, 2015). The seeds were exhaustively screw pressed for two successive cycles and the extracted crude oil of N. sativa was filtered and received in dark brown glass bottles equipped with screw caps and stored in the refrigerator until analyzed in less than 1 week.…”

“…Examples of these functional oils which already exist in the supplements' market include flax, pumpkin and Nigella sativa oils. The functionality of these oils (in terms of protective and/or therapeutic activities) has been previously reported (Mason et al, 2015;Biljana et al, 2014;Al-Okbi et al, 2015), respectively.…”