Nigella sativa L. as a potential natural product for the treatment of COVID-19

Document Type : Review Articles

Authors

1 Pharmacological and Diagnostic Research Center (PDRC), Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman 19328, Jordan

2 Biology Program, School of Distance Education, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia

3 Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Technology, Kazakh-British Technical University, 59 Tole bi St., 050000, Almaty, Kazakhstan

4 Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza 12311, Egypt

Abstract

The world is now facing a public health emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). The World Health Organization (WHO) has called it an emerging pandemic due to its sudden appearance and distribution. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic caused by the Coronavirus2 of the Extreme Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV2). Nigella sativa (N. sativa) (Family Ranunculaceae) is a globally used medicinal herb. Unani and Tibb, Ayurveda, and Siddha are only a few of the western medical systems that use it. N. sativa, also known as black seed, is an essential medicinal plant that has long been used as a multipurpose medicinal agent in various countries. Immune deficiency, autophagy deficiency, oxidative stress, pathological inflammation, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and bacterial and viral infections are all treated effectively with the essential oil and other preparations of the N. sativa crop. It comprises of many essential groups of bioactive compounds, one of which, thymoquinone, has piqued the scientific community's interest due to its active function in treating a wide variety of diseases. The therapeutic effectiveness of N. sativa, as well as recent computational results, clearly suggest that it may be used to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic that has recently arisen. The aim of this review is to highlight the therapeutic importance of N. sativa in conventional medicine, as well as the potential for its use as an antiviral agent against the SARS-CoV2 virus and for further preclinical research.

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