Thymoquinone: A Promising Natural Compound with Potential Benefits for COVID-19 Prevention and Cure

Badary, Osama A.; Hamza, Marwa S.; Tikamdas, Rajiv

doi:10.2147/dddt.s308863

Cited by 47 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 188 publications

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“…However, thymoquinone is considered the most abundant and major compound present in the volatile oil of N. sativa, among all other compounds. Indeed, thymoquinone is known to activate several immunological responses and has shown potent antiviral activity against different viruses such as the Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, human immunodeficiency virus, and murine hepatitis C virus [33]. In addition, thymoquinone is present in its dimeric form as well, which is commonly known as dithymoquinone or nigellone.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying the Most Potent Dual-Targeting Compound(s) against 3CLprotease and NSP15exonuclease of SARS-CoV-2 from Nigella sativa: Virtual Screening via Physicochemical Properties, Docking and Dynamic Simulation Analysis

et al. 2021

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Background: The outbreak of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has drastically affected the human population and caused enormous economic deprivation. It belongs to the β-coronavirus family and causes various problems such as acute respiratory distress syndrome and has resulted in a global pandemic. Though various medications have been under trial for combating COVID-19, specific medicine for treating COVID-19 is unavailable. Thus, the current situation urgently requires effective treatment modalities. Nigella sativa, a natural herb with reported antiviral activity and various pharmacological properties, has been selected in the present study to identify a therapeutic possibility for treating COVID-19. Methods: The present work aimed to virtually screen the bioactive compounds of N. sativa based on the physicochemical properties and docking approach against two SARS-CoV-2 enzymes responsible for crucial functions: 3CLpro (Main protease) and NSP15 (Nonstructural protein 15 or exonuclease). However, simulation trajectory analyses for 100ns were accomplished by using the YASARA STRUCTURE tool based on the AMBER14 force field with 400 snapshots every 250ps. RMSD and RMSF plots were successfully obtained for each target. Results: The results of molecular docking have shown higher binding energy of dithymoquinone (DTQ), a compound of N. sativa against 3CLpro and Nsp15, i.e., −8.56 kcal/mol and −8.31 kcal/mol, respectively. Further, the dynamic simulation has shown good stability of DTQ against both the targeted enzymes. In addition, physicochemical evaluation and toxicity assessment also revealed that DTQ obeyed the Lipinski rule and did not have any toxic side effects. Importantly, DTQ was much better in every aspect among the 13 N. sativa compounds and 2 control compounds tested. Conclusions: The results predicted that DTQ is a potent therapeutic molecule that could dual-target both 3CLpro and NSP15 for anti-COVID therapy.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying the Most Potent Dual-Targeting Compound(s) against 3CLprotease and NSP15exonuclease of SARS-CoV-2 from Nigella sativa: Virtual Screening via Physicochemical Properties, Docking and Dynamic Simulation Analysis

et al. 2021

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“…Black seeds, known scientifically as Nigella sativa from the family Ranunculaceae, are abundant in beneficial volatile oils. The United States Food and Drug Administration classifies black seed oil as "Generally Recognized as Safe" [6][7][8]. Thymoquinone (THQ) is a monoterpene known as 2-isopropyl-5-methylbenzo-1, 4-quinone, and is one of the major compounds in the essential oils of Nigella sativa, with other compounds, e.g., p-cymene, carvacrol, and thymol.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thymoquinone (THQ) is a monoterpene known as 2-isopropyl-5-methylbenzo-1, 4-quinone, and is one of the major compounds in the essential oils of Nigella sativa, with other compounds, e.g., p-cymene, carvacrol, and thymol. THQ has a wide range of beneficial effects, such as antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticoagulant, immunomodulatory, and hepatoprotective effects [6][7][8]. In terms of cancer treatment, numerous studies have been undertaken to elucidate the underlying mechanism of action of THQ as an anticancer or chemopreventive agent in a variety of cancer cell lines and animal models.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phyto-Phospholipid Conjugated Scorpion Venom Nanovesicles as Promising Carrier That Improves Efficacy of Thymoquinone against Adenocarcinoma Human Alveolar Basal Epithelial Cells

et al. 2021

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Lung cancer is a dangerous type of cancer in men and the third leading cause of cancer-related death in women, behind breast and colorectal cancers. Thymoquinone (THQ), a main compound in black seed essential oils, has a variety of beneficial effects, including antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. On the other hand, scorpion venom peptides (SV) induce apoptosis in the cancer cells, making it a promising anticancer agent. THQ, SV, and Phospholipon® 90H (PL) were incorporated in a nano-based delivery platform to assess THQ’s cellular uptake and antiproliferative efficacy against a lung cancer cell line derived from human alveolar epithelial cells (A549). Several nanovesicles were prepared and optimized using factorial experimental design. The optimized phytosome formulation contained 79.0 mg of PL and 170.0 mg of SV, with vesicle size and zeta potential of 209.9 nm and 21.1 mV, respectively. The IC50 values revealed that A549 cells were significantly more sensitive to the THQ formula than the plain formula and THQ. Cell cycle analysis revealed that THQ formula treatment resulted in significant cell cycle arrest at the S phase, increasing cell population in this phase by 22.1%. Furthermore, the THQ formula greatly increased cell apoptosis (25.17%) when compared to the untreated control (1.76%), plain formula (11.96%), or THQ alone (13.18%). The results also indicated that treatment with THQ formula significantly increased caspase-3, Bax, Bcl-2, and p53 mRNA expression compared to plain formula and THQ. In terms of the inflammatory markers, THQ formula significantly reduced the activity of TNF-α and NF-κB in comparison with the plain formula and THQ only. Overall, the findings from the study proved that a phytosome formulation of THQ could be a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma.

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“…Accordingly, a recent study has shown that administration of Nigella sativa L. (black cumin) over 2 weeks reduces the severity of COVID-19 symptoms and elicited viral clearance [ 159 ]. The active compound in N. sativa seems to be thymoquinone, which shows high efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 according to recently published findings [ 160 , 161 ]. The link to TRP channels is provided by yet another study, which finds that N. sativa also affects the expression of TRP channels [ 162 ].…”

Section: Emerging Treatment Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 87%

Calcium Signals during SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Assessing the Potential of Emerging Therapies

Berlansky

Sallinger

Grabmayr

et al. 2022

Cells

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This respiratory illness was declared a pandemic by the world health organization (WHO) in March 2020, just a few weeks after being described for the first time. Since then, global research effort has considerably increased humanity’s knowledge about both viruses and disease. It has also spawned several vaccines that have proven to be key tools in attenuating the spread of the pandemic and severity of COVID-19. However, with vaccine-related skepticism being on the rise, as well as breakthrough infections in the vaccinated population and the threat of a complete immune escape variant, alternative strategies in the fight against SARS-CoV-2 are urgently required. Calcium signals have long been known to play an essential role in infection with diverse viruses and thus constitute a promising avenue for further research on therapeutic strategies. In this review, we introduce the pivotal role of calcium signaling in viral infection cascades. Based on this, we discuss prospective calcium-related treatment targets and strategies for the cure of COVID-19 that exploit viral dependence on calcium signals.

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Thymoquinone: A Promising Natural Compound with Potential Benefits for COVID-19 Prevention and Cure

Cited by 47 publications

References 188 publications

Identifying the Most Potent Dual-Targeting Compound(s) against 3CLprotease and NSP15exonuclease of SARS-CoV-2 from Nigella sativa: Virtual Screening via Physicochemical Properties, Docking and Dynamic Simulation Analysis

Identifying the Most Potent Dual-Targeting Compound(s) against 3CLprotease and NSP15exonuclease of SARS-CoV-2 from Nigella sativa: Virtual Screening via Physicochemical Properties, Docking and Dynamic Simulation Analysis

Phyto-Phospholipid Conjugated Scorpion Venom Nanovesicles as Promising Carrier That Improves Efficacy of Thymoquinone against Adenocarcinoma Human Alveolar Basal Epithelial Cells

Calcium Signals during SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Assessing the Potential of Emerging Therapies

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