Table 1.

Significant cardiovascular effects of NS and its constituents.

Reference	Study model	Constituents	Laboratory findings
[12]	Renovascular hypertensive rat	NS oil (i.p.) 0.2 mL/kg	↓ SBP, tissue MDA, luminol, and lucigenin CL ↑ tissue Na+ and K+-ATPase ↓ plasma CK, LDH, and ADMA ↑ plasma NO
[15]	Rat	(a) NS oil (i.v.)  4–32 μL/kg (b) TQ (i.v.)  0.2–1.6 mg/kg	↓ arterial BP and heart rate (dose dependent)
[16]	Guinea pig	NS oil (i.v.) 4–32 μL/kg	↓ arterial BP and heart rate (dose dependent)
[17]	Rat	(a) De-TQ volatile oil (i.v.)  2–16 μL/kg (b) α-pinene (i.v.)  1–4 μL/kg (c) p-cymene (i.v.)  2–16 μL/kg	↓ arterial BP and heart rate (dose dependent) *De-TQ volatile oil and p-cymene: 4, 8, and 16 μL/kg *α-pinene: 2 and 4 μL/kg
[18]	Rat	Thymol (in vitro)	↓ aortic contraction (dose dependent)
[19]	Canine and guinea pig	Thymol (in vitro)	Negative inotropic action (dose dependent)
[20]	Spontaneously hypertensive rat	NS seed extract (p.o.) 0.6 mL/kg	↑ diuresis ↓ arterial BP
[21]	Spontaneously hypertensive rat	NS extract (p.o.)	↓ SBP ↑ GFR, urinary and electrolyte output
[22]	L-NAME-induced hypertensive rat	TQ (p.o.) 0.5 mg/kg and 1 mg/kg	↓ SBP and serum creatinine ↑ kidney GSH
[23]	L-NAME-induced hypertensive rat	NS seed extract (p.o.) 400 mg/kg	↓ arterial BP, SBP, DBP, and serum LDH ↑ serum NO
[24]	Patients with mild hypertension	NS seed extract (p.o.) 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg	↓ SBP and DBP (dose dependent) ↓ total and LDL cholesterol

NS: Nigella sativa; L-NAME: L-NG-nitroarginine methyl ester; i.p.: intraperitoneal; i.v.: intravenous; p.o.: per os; TQ: thymoquinone; De-TQ: de-thymoquinonated; SBP: systolic blood pressure; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; MDA: malondialdehyde; CL: chemiluminescence; CK: creatine kinase; LDH: lactate dehydrogenase; ADMA: asymmetric dimethylarginine; NO: nitric oxide; GFR: glomerular filtration rate; GSH: glutathione; LDL: low-density lipoprotein.