Title:A Review on Possible Therapeutic Effect of Nigella sativa and Thymoquinone in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Volume: 17
Issue: 6
Author(s): Saeed Samarghandian, Tahereh Farkhondeh*Fariborz Samini
Affiliation:
- Cardiovascular Diseases Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand,Iran
Keywords:
Anti-inflammation, antioxidant, Nigella sativa, neuroprotective, thymoquinone, apoptosis.
Abstract: Background & Objective: Medicinal plants have attracted great attention in the recent years
and is increasingly applied instead of the chemical drugs. Several documents showed that herbal medicine
traditionally and clinically applied in the cure and prevention of several diseases. In the recent
years, different medicinal plants and their main components have been chosen in neurological therapy.
The less toxic effects, availability, and lower price of medicinal plants versus synthetic substances
make them as excellent and simple selection in the treatment of nervous diseases. Nigella sativa (N.
Sativa) L. (Ranunculaceae), well recognized as black cumin, has been utilized as a medicinal plant that
has a strong traditional background. Thymoquinone (TQ) is one of the main active components of the
volatile oil of N. sativa seeds and most effects and actions of N. Sativa are mainly related to TQ. The
several pharmacological properties of N. sativa and TQ have been found, for example; anti-tumor,
anti-microbial, anti-histaminic, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant effects. Many
reviews have investigated this valuable plant and its components, but none of them focused on their neuroprotective
effects. Therefore, the aim of the present review was to show comprehensive and
neuropharmacological properties of N. sativa and TQ. In this review, various studies on scientific databases
regarding the effects of N. sativa and TQ in neurological diseases have been introduced. Studies
on the neuroprotective effects of N. sativa and TQ which were published between1979 and 2018, were
searched using various databases. The results of these studies showed that N. sativa and TQ have the
protective effects against neurodegenerative diseases, including; Alzheimer, depression, encephalomyelitis,
epilepsy, ischemia, Parkinson, and traumatic brain injury have been discussed in the cell lines
and experimental animal models. Although there are many studies indicating the beneficial actions of
this plant in the nervous system, the number of research projects relating to the human reports is rare.
Conclusion: Therefore, better designed clinical trials in humans are needed to confirm these effects.