Frontiers in Pharmacology (Apr 2021)
Nigella Plants – Traditional Uses, Bioactive Phytoconstituents, Preclinical and Clinical Studies
- Bahare Salehi,
- Cristina Quispe,
- Muhammad Imran,
- Iahtisham Ul-Haq,
- Jelena Živković,
- Ibrahim M. Abu-Reidah,
- Surjit Sen,
- Surjit Sen,
- Yasaman Taheri,
- Krishnendu Acharya,
- Hamed Azadi,
- María del Mar Contreras,
- Antonio Segura-Carretero,
- Antonio Segura-Carretero,
- Dima Mnayer,
- Gautam Sethi,
- Miquel Martorell,
- Miquel Martorell,
- Ahmad Faizal Abdull Razis,
- Ahmad Faizal Abdull Razis,
- Usman Sunusi,
- Usman Sunusi,
- Ramla Muhammad Kamal,
- Ramla Muhammad Kamal,
- Hafiz Ansar Rasul Suleria,
- Javad Sharifi-Rad,
- Javad Sharifi-Rad
Affiliations
- Bahare Salehi
- Medical Ethics and Law Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Cristina Quispe
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Arturo Prat, Iquique, Chile
- Muhammad Imran
- Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, University Institute of Diet and Nutritional Sciences, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan
- Iahtisham Ul-Haq
- Department of Diet and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Health and Allied Sciences, Imperial College of Business Studies, Lahore, Pakistan
- Jelena Živković
- Institute for Medicinal Plants Research “Dr. Josif Pančić”, Belgrade, Serbia
- Ibrahim M. Abu-Reidah
- Department of Environmental Science/Boreal Ecosystem Research Initiative, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Corner Brook, NL, Canada
- Surjit Sen
- Molecular and Applied Mycology and Plant Pathology Laboratory, Department of Botany, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India
- Surjit Sen
- Department of Botany, Fakir Chand College, Diamond Harbour, India
- Yasaman Taheri
- Phytochemistry Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Krishnendu Acharya
- Molecular and Applied Mycology and Plant Pathology Laboratory, Department of Botany, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India
- Hamed Azadi
- 0Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding Science, College of Aburaihan, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
- María del Mar Contreras
- 1Department of Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering, University of Jaén, Jaén, Spain
- Antonio Segura-Carretero
- 2Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
- Antonio Segura-Carretero
- 3Research and Development Functional Food Centre (CIDAF), Bioregión Building, Health Science Technological Park, Granada, Spain
- Dima Mnayer
- 4Faculty of Sciences, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
- Gautam Sethi
- 5Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- Miquel Martorell
- 6Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Pharmacy, and Centre for Healthy Living, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile
- Miquel Martorell
- 7Unidad de Desarrollo Tecnológico, UDT, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
- Ahmad Faizal Abdull Razis
- 8Department of Food Science, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
- Ahmad Faizal Abdull Razis
- 9Natural Medicines and Products Research Laboratory, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
- Usman Sunusi
- 9Natural Medicines and Products Research Laboratory, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
- Usman Sunusi
- 0Department of Biochemistry, Bayero University Kano, Kano, Nigeria
- Ramla Muhammad Kamal
- 9Natural Medicines and Products Research Laboratory, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
- Ramla Muhammad Kamal
- 1Department of Pharmacology, Federal University Dutse, Dutse, Nigeria
- Hafiz Ansar Rasul Suleria
- 2Department of Agriculture and Food Systems, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Javad Sharifi-Rad
- Phytochemistry Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Javad Sharifi-Rad
- 3Facultad de Medicina, Universidad del Azuay, Cuenca, Ecuador
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.625386
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 12
Abstract
Nigella is a small genus of the family Ranunculaceae, which includes some popular species due to their culinary and medicinal properties, especially in Eastern Europe, Middle East, Western, and Central Asia. Therefore, this review covers the traditional uses and phytochemical composition of Nigella and, in particular, Nigella sativa. The pharmacological studies reported in vitro, in vivo, and in humans have also been reviewed. One of the main strength of the use of Nigella is that the seeds are rich in the omega-6 fatty acid linoleic acid and provide an extra-source of dietary phytochemicals, including the bioactive thymoquinone, and characteristics saponins, alkaloids, and flavonoids. Among Nigella species, N. sativa L. is the most studied plant from the genus. Due to the phytochemical composition and pharmacological properties, the seed and seed oil from this plant can be considered as good candidates to formulate functional ingredients on the basis of folklore and scientific knowledge. Nonetheless, the main limations are that more studies, especially, clinical trials are required to standardize the results, e.g. to establish active molecules, dosage, chemical profile, long-term effects and impact of cooking/incorporation into foods.
Keywords