<i>Nigella sativa</i> L. and COVID-19: A Glance at The Anti-COVID-19 Chemical Constituents, Clinical Trials, Inventions, and Patent Literature
Mohd Imran,
Shah Alam Khan,
Abida,
Mohammed Kanan Alshammari,
Saif M. Alkhaldi,
Fayez Nafea Alshammari,
Mehnaz Kamal,
Ozair Alam,
Syed Mohammed Basheeruddin Asdaq,
A. Khuzaim Alzahrani,
Shahamah Jomah
Affiliations
Mohd Imran
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Northern Border University, Rafha 91911, Saudi Arabia
Shah Alam Khan
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, National University of Science and Technology, Muscat 130, Oman
Abida
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Northern Border University, Rafha 91911, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Kanan Alshammari
Department of Pharmaceutical Care, Rafha Central Hospital, Rafha 91911, Saudi Arabia
Saif M. Alkhaldi
Department of Pharmaceutical Care, King Khalid Hospital in Majmaah, Riyadh 76312, Saudi Arabia
Fayez Nafea Alshammari
Community Pharmacist, Al-Dawaa Pharmacies, Hafer Albatin 39911, Saudi Arabia
Mehnaz Kamal
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia
Ozair Alam
Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Modelling Lab, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi 110062, India
Syed Mohammed Basheeruddin Asdaq
Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, AlMaarefa University, Dariyah, Riyadh 13713, Saudi Arabia
A. Khuzaim Alzahrani
Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Northern Border University, Arar 91431, Saudi Arabia
Shahamah Jomah
Pharmacy Department, Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Group, Riyadh 11643, Saudi Arabia
COVID-19 has had an impact on human quality of life and economics. Scientists have been identifying remedies for its prevention and treatment from all possible sources, including plants. Nigella sativa L. (NS) is an important medicinal plant of Islamic value. This review highlights the anti-COVID-19 potential, clinical trials, inventions, and patent literature related to NS and its major chemical constituents, like thymoquinone. The literature was collected from different databases, including Pubmed, Espacenet, and Patentscope. The literature supports the efficacy of NS, NS oil (NSO), and its chemical constituents against COVID-19. The clinical data imply that NS and NSO can prevent and treat COVID-19 patients with a faster recovery rate. Several inventions comprising NS and NSO have been claimed in patent applications to prevent/treat COVID-19. The patent literature cites NS as an immunomodulator, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, a source of anti-SARS-CoV-2 compounds, and a plant having protective effects on the lungs. The available facts indicate that NS, NSO, and its various compositions have all the attributes to be used as a promising remedy to prevent, manage, and treat COVID-19 among high-risk people as well as for the therapy of COVID-19 patients of all age groups as a monotherapy or a combination therapy. Many compositions of NS in combination with countless medicinal herbs and medicines are still unexplored. Accordingly, the authors foresee a bright scope in developing NS-based anti-COVID-19 composition for clinical use in the future.
