Background Effective treatment for Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) is under intensive research. Nigella sativa oil (NSO) is a herbal medicine with antiviral and immunomodulatory activities, and has been recommended for the treatment of COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of NSO treatment in patients with COVID-19. Methods All adult patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms presented to King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, were recruited for an open label randomized clinical trial (RCT). They were randomly divided into control or treatment groups, with the latter receiving 500 mg NSO (MARNYS® Cuminmar) twice daily for 10 days. Symptoms were daily monitored via telecommunication. The primary outcome focused on the percentage of patients who recovered (symptom-free for 3 days) within 14-days. The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04401202). Results A total of 173 patients were enrolled for RCT. The average age was 36(±11) years, and 53% of patients were males. The control and NSO groups included 87 and 86 patients respectively. The percentage of recovered patients in NSO group (54[62%]) was significantly higher than that in the control group (31[36%]; p = 0.001). The mean duration to recovery was also shorter for patients receiving NSO (10.7 ± 3.2 days) compared with the control group (12.3 ± 2.8 days); p = 0.001. Conclusions NSO supplementation was associated with faster recovery of symptoms than usual care alone for patients with mild COVID-19 infection. These potential therapeutic benefits require further exploration with placebo-controlled, double-blinded studies.

Poor compliance with conventional asthma medications remains a major problem in achieving asthma control. Nigella sativa oil (NSO) is used traditionally for many inflammatory conditions such as asthma. We aimed to investigate the benefits of NSO supplementation on clinical and inflammatory parameters of asthma. NSO capsules 500mg twice daily for 4 weeks was used as a supplementary treatment in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (RDBPCT) in asthmatics (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02407262). The primary outcome was Asthma Control Test (ACT) score. The secondary outcomes were pulmonary function test, blood eosinophils, and total serum Future studies should follow asthmatics for longer periods in a multicentre trial.

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Background Coronaviruses are responsible for several human diseases, such as the infectious novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Nigella sativa is a natural food supplement with a known safety profile that may provide a wealth of documented antiviral compounds. Objective To explore the studies supporting the N sativa potential for hitting SARS-CoV-2 targets. Methods A literature search for published or preprint in silico studies between 1990 and 2020 in electronic databases (PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, and Google Scholar) was performed for the terms Nigella sativa, black seed, coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 , and COVID-19 . Results At least 8 in silico studies have shown that some compounds of N sativa , including nigelledine, α-hederin, hederagenin, thymohydroquinone, and thymoquinone, had high to moderate affinity with SARS-CoV-2 enzymes and proteins. These compounds may potentially inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication and attachment to host cell receptors . Conclusions These preliminary data of in silico studies propose N sativa as a potential phytotherapy candidate for COVID-19. Further preclinical experimental evidence is required followed by a Phase I clinical trial. ( Curr Ther Res Clin Exp . 2020; 81:XXX–XXX)

L. (NS) seeds, known as black seed, is a spice and a traditional herbal medicine used in various diseases including bronchial asthma. This review aimed to assess the studies supporting the medicinal use of NS in asthma and to highlight future research priorities. Various medical databases were searched for the effects of NS and its active secondary metabolites in asthma inflammation and outcomes. There were fourteen preclinical studies describing multiple effects of NS in animal or cellular models of asthma including bronchodilation, anti-histaminic, anti-inflammatory, anti-leukotrienes and immunomodulatory effects. Furthermore, seven clinical studies showed improvements in different asthma outcomes including symptoms, pulmonary function and laboratory parameters. However, often these studies are small and used ill-defined preparations. In conclusion, NS could be therapeutically beneficial in alleviating airway inflammation and the control of asthma symptoms, but the evidence remains scanty and is often based on poorly characterised preparations. Accordingly, well-designed large clinical studies using chemically well characterised NS preparation are required.