Methanol extract of Nigella sativa seed induces changes in the levels of neurotransmitter amino acids in male rat brain regions

Abstract

Context:Nigella sativa L. (Ranunculaceae) (NS) has been used for medicinal and culinary purposes. Different parts of the plant are used to treat many disorders.Objective: This study investigates the effects of NS methanol extract on brain neurotransmitter amino acid levels.Materials and methods: We measured the changes in aspartate, glutamate, glycine and γ-aminobutyric acid in five brain regions of male Wistar rats after methanol extract treatment. Animals were injected intraperitoneally with saline solution (controls) or NS methanol extract (equivalent of 2.5 g/kg body weight) and sacrificed 1 h later or after administering 1 daily dose for 8 days. The neurotransmitters were measured in the hypothalamus, cortex, striatum, hippocampus and thalamus by HPLC.Results and discussion: Results showed significant changes in amino acids compared to basal values. Glutamate increased significantly (16–36%) in the regions analyzed except the striatum. Aspartate in the hypothalamus (50 and 76%) and glycine in hippocampus (32 and 25%), thalamus (66 and 29%) and striatum (75 and 48%) also increased with the two treatment intervals. γ-Aminobutyric acid significantly increased in the hippocampus (38 and 32%) and thalamus (22 and 40%) but decreased in the cortex and hypothalamus although in striatum only after eight days of treatment (24%).Conclusion: Our results suggest that injected methanol extract modifies amino acid levels in the rat brain regions. These results could be of interest since some neurodegenerative diseases are related to amino acid level imbalances in the central nervous system, suggesting the prospect for therapeutic use of NS against these disorders.

Nigella Plants – Traditional Uses, Bioactive Phytoconstituents, Preclinical and Clinical Studies

“…The plants are mainly consumed for their seeds and seed oil, as commented before. The main constituents of N. sativa seeds reported in the literature are fixed oil (27–40%), proteins (16–19%), characterized mainly by the amino acids arginine, glutamic acid, leucine, lysine; minerals (1.79–3.74%), like Cu, Zn, P, and Fe; carbohydrates (28.5–33.7%), and solubre dietary fibers (5.5–8.9%) ( Al-Naqeep et al, 2009 ; Tiruppur Venkatachallam et al, 2010 ; Kooti et al, 2016 ; El-Naggar et al, 2017 ; Saxena et al, 2017 ). Concerning the phytochemical composition of Nigella seeds, the most interesting plant part, it is constituted of alkaloids, terpenes and phenolic compounds ( Agradi et al, 2001 ).…”

“…The oil of N. sativa seeds has been highly studied, showing predominance of linoleic acid (1) (50–60%), oleic acid (2) (20%), myristic acid (3) (30%), and palmitic acid (4) (12.5%) ( Tiruppur Venkatachallam et al, 2010 ; Kooti et al, 2016 ; El-Naggar et al, 2017 ; Saxena et al, 2017 ) ( Figure 1 ). Nigella seed oil from Morocco also showed that the major fatty acids were linoleic acid (1) (58.5 and 56.5%), oleic acid (2) (23.8 and 24.9%) and palmitic acid (4) (13.1 and 11.9%) using cold press and solvent extraction, respectively ( Gharby et al, 2015 ).…”

“…Volatile oils are derived from plant tissues and are characterized to evaporate under room temperature and failure to saponify. Concerning volatile oil (around 0.5–1.5%) of Nigella seeds, it showed high abundance of thymoquinone (8), p -cymene (9) and other phenolic derivatives, such as dithymoquinone (nigellone) (10), thymohydroquinone (11), carvacrol (12), and thymol (13) ( Bourgou et al, 2010b ; Tiruppur Venkatachallam et al, 2010 ; Kooti et al, 2016 ; El-Naggar et al, 2017 ).…”

Protective effects of Nigella sativa on Pre-fronto-cortical functions in mice Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) model

“…[12] It also corroborates earlier reports on the neuro-pharmacological potentials of Nigella sativa. [13] Furthermore, a positive discrimination index indicates a higher novel object recognition memory. The ETH group had a discrimination index of -0.1, indicating a lower recognition memory as a result of the prenatal ethanol exposure, while the NSE group had the highest discrimination index in corroboration of the prophylactic effect of maternal pregestational exposure to Nigella sativa on the NSE pups.…”

Bronchodilator activity of ethyl acetate extract of Nigella sativa

“…Six male albino rats (Rattus norvegicus) weighting 200 -300 g (from Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Zakho) were recruited for the current study. Prior to start the experiment, the animals were placed under standard laboratory conditions (22±2ºC and free access to water and libitum with a 12 hrs on light/12 hrs off light) (17). Standard pellets comprising 25.6 % soya, 1.5 % lime stone, 4.4 % oil, 0.63 % salt, 0.062 % choline chloride, 0.158 % methionine, 66.6 % wheat and 0.05 % trace elements were given to the animals (18).…”