Black Cumin Seed Oil

02:03

Black seed oil is a substance that is extracted from the seeds of Nigella sativa, a plant that is native to Egypt, the sub-continent and Asia. Black seed and black seed oil have long been used as herbal medicine for skin conditions, such as eczema, psoriasis, acne and dry skin, allergies, colds and more serious health conditions, such as asthma, arthritis, cancer and diabetes. 

According to a case report conducted by Onifade et al., after treatment with 10 mL of black seed twice daily for 6 months, a complete regaining and seroreversion of a 46-year-old HIV positive patient was evidenced [117]. In addition, a 27-year-old HIV infected woman was diagnosed during ante-natal care; she was not eligible for antiretroviral therapy; hence herbal therapist initiated her on black cumin and honey mixture (10 mL) thrice daily for a year. The repeat serology assessments for HIV infection became negative with undetectable viral load. The woman also got 3 children (2007, 2010, and 2012) that all were breastfed and none of the children infected with HIV and her repeat CD4 count was not less than 750 cells/μL [118]. Nowadays HIV/AIDS is a serious global threat and in this regard, N. sativa can be a promising natural therapy to cure such a chronic infectious disease, after validating its full therapeutic efficacy by further investigations.

The anti-inflammatory properties of black seed oil may also help alleviate symptoms like indigestion, nausea, abdominal distention, bloating, vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation. Some clinical studies have shownTrusted Source that the oil may even have a preventive effect on colitis, pancreatitis, and other gastrointestinal disorders. However, more research is necessary to pin down the exact benefits of black seed oil in this area.

Black seed might cause sleepiness and drowsiness. Medications that cause sleepiness are called sedatives. Using black seed along with sedative medications might cause too much sleepiness. Some sedative medications include Some sedative medications include clonazepam (Klonopin), lorazepam (Ativan), phenobarbital (Donnatal), zolpidem (Ambien), and others.

Black Seed Oil

The maximal nutritional value of black cumin can be linked to the presence of substantial amount of vegetable protein, fiber and minerals, and vitamins. The nutritional composition reported from different sources revealed 20-85% of protein, 38.20% of fat, 7-94% of fiber, and 31.94% of total carbohydrates. Among various amino acids identified, glutamate, arginine, and aspartate while cysteine and methionine were the major and minor amino acids, respectively. Black cumin seeds also contain significant levels of iron, copper, zinc, phosphorus, calcium, thiamin, niacin, pyridoxine, and folic acid [7, 8]. In addition, phytochemical analyses of N. sativa displayed the presence of over hundreds of phytoconstituents which include mainly alkaloids, saponins, sterols, and essential oil but the composition of many of these have not been chemically recognized nor have been biologically verified. The N. sativa seed contain 26-34% fixed oil of which the major fatty acids are linoleic acid (64.6%) and palmitic acid (20.4%). The seed oil is comprised of 0.4%–2.5% essential oil [9, 10]. Amongst different active constituents reported so far, thymoquinone found as major component of the essential oil is the most bioactive compound and exhibits wide ranging therapeutic benefits [11].

According to a nonrandomized controlled trials, 57 patients who were allocated to receive 2 g daily supplementations of black cumin for one year displayed a noticeable reduction in systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial BP, heart rate, TC, LDL-c, the fractions of TC/HDL-c, and LDL-c/HDL-c while serum HDL-c was suggestively raised compared with the corresponding baseline values and the control group [53]. Although a trend towards reduction in BP was observed after N. sativa administration, one randomized controlled clinical trial failed to show a significant reduction of BP in elderly patients with hypertension [54]. This might be because of the sample size, dosage (300 mg BID for 4 weeks) of the N. sativa used in this study, the severity of hypertension, and study population used. For instance, previous clinical studies conducted by Dehkordi et al. [55] and Qidwai et al. [56] conducted on mild hypertensive patients with the dosage of 200 mg BID for 4 weeks and 500 mg BID for 6 weeks, respectively, showed a significant reduction of SPB.