Table 7.
Comprehensive summary on the pulmonary protective effects of black cumin.
| Treatment with Doses | Experimental Model | Major Findings (Including Molecular Changes) |
References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed extract (100, 200, 400 mg/kg, i.p. for 16 days started 2 days prior to LPS injection) |
LPS-induced lung damage in rats | ↓Inflammatory leukocytes and oxidative stress markers in the blood and bronchoalveolar fluid; ↓inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, TGF-β1, PGE2); ↑IL-4 in bronchoalveolar fluid |
[185] |
| Seed extract (500 mg/kg per day) | Bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis (BMILF) in rats | ↓Pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis; ↓hydroxyproline concentration in pulmonary tissue ↓lipid peroxidation; ↑CAT | [186] |
| NSO (1 mL/kg per day, p.o. for 50 days) |
BMILF in rats | ↓Inflammatory index and fibrosis score; ↑urinary secretion of histidine fumarate, allantoin and malate | [188] |
| TQ (10 and 20 mg/kg, p.o. for 28 days) |
BMILF in rats | Recovers weight loss; ↓MMP-7 expression; ↓apoptotic markers (caspase 3, Bax, and Bcl-2); ↓fibrotic changes (TGF-β and hydroxyproline in lung tissues); ↑Nrf2, HO-1 and ↓TGF-β expression | [187] |
| TQ (i.p. daily for the last 21 days of a total of 90 days exposure to cigarette smoke) |
Cigarette smoke-exposed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rats | ↓IL-8 levels; ↓↑apoptosis (hence, it requires appropriate dosing of TQ while long term TQ or DMSO exposure might have toxicity) | [189] |
| NS seed extract (+ onion extracts) for 18 weeks |
Nicotine-induced lung damage in SD rats | ↓MDA level; ↑SOD, CAT, and GSH to a normal level | [190] |
| NSO (1 mL/kg of NSO through gastric gavage for 28 days one hour before CdCl2 administration) |
Cadmium-induced lung damage in adult male rats | ↓Cd-induced lung damage with minimal histopathological changes in lung architecture | [191] |
| Seed extract (0.1–0.5 mg/mL) |
Wistar rat peritoneal mast cells | ↓Histamine level, no toxicity on mast cells | [192] |
| TQ-rich oily preparations | Human T lymphocyte, monocyte and A549 human lung epithelial cells (in vitro models of asthma-related mediators of inflammation) | ↓IL-2, IL-6, and PGE2 in T-lymphocytes; ↓IL-6 and PGE2 in monocytes; ↑ PGE2 in A549 cells | [41] |
| Black cumin supplement (NS-1, NS-2 =1, 2 g/day respectively, for 3 months) |
Randomized single-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial with asthma patients | ↑Peak expiratory flow by 25–75%; ↓fractional exhaled nitric oxide and serum IgE; ↑serum IFN-γ,Improvement in asthma control test score | [193] |
| NSO capsules (500 mg, twice daily for 4 weeks) | Randomized single-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial with asthma patients | ↓Blood eosinophils; ↑asthma control with an overall improvement in pulmonary function | [194] |