Table 4.

Chronic toxicity of Nigella sativa in animal studies

Substance/dose	Animals used	Exposure period	Observation period	Main results	Reference
N. sativa FO 2 mL/kg, p.o.	Wistar-Kyoto rats	12 weeks	Same 12 weeks	↓ Leukocyte and Plt ↑ HCT, Hb, MGV, MCH, and MCHC No alteration in AST, ALT, ALP, and GGT levels or histopathological features Slight toxicity	[49]
N. sativa FO 1 mL/kg, p.o.	Wistar-Kyoto rats	12 weeks	Same 12 weeks	↓ Leukocyte and Plt ↑ HCT, Hb No alteration in AST, ALT, ALP, and GGT levels Slight toxicity	[56]

FO, fixed oil; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; Plt, platelet; Hct, hematocrit; Hb, hemoglobin; MCH, mean corpuscular hemoglobin; MCHC, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration; MGV, mean globular volume; p.o. per oral.