The antioxidative and antihistaminic effect of Nigella sativa and its major constituent, thymoquinone on ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damage

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the possible protective effects of Nigella sativa (NS) and its constituent, thymoquinone (TQ) on ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damage in an experimental model. Forty male rats aged four months were divided into four groups (each group containing ten animals); the control group received physiologic saline (10 ml kg(-1)) and the ethanol group had taken 1 ml (per rat) absolute alcohol by gavage. The third and fourth groups also received NS (500 mg kg(-1)) and TQ (10 mg kg(-1)) by gavage 1 h before alcohol administration, respectively. Both drugs (NS and TQ) could protect the gastric mucosa against the injurious effect of absolute alcohol and promote ulcer healing as evidenced from the ulcer index values. Gastric damage was confirmed histomorphometrically by significant increases in the number of mast cells (MC) and gastric erosions in ethanol treated rats. The NS treatment significantly decreased the number of MC and reduced the area of gastric erosions. Likewise, TQ treatment was also able to reduce the number of MC and the gravity of gastric mucosal lesions, but to lesser extent compared to NS. Gastric tissue histamine levels and myeloperoxidase activities were found to be increased in ethanol treated rats, and NS or TQ treatment reversed these increases. Results obtained from this study suggest that both drugs, particularly NS could partly protect gastric mucosa from acute alcohol-induced mucosal injury, and these gastroprotective effects could be due to their antiperoxidative, antioxidant and antihistaminic effects.

Antidiabetic Properties of a Spice Plant Nigella sativa

“…The pharmacological actions of the seeds of Nigella sativa or its constituents that have been reported include protection against nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity induced by either disease or chemicals [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. The seeds/oil have anti-inflammatory [15], analgesic [4], antipyretic [16], spasmolytic [17], bronchodialator [17], antihistaminic [18], antihypertensive [19], antitumor [20], antioxidant [18], antineoplastic [9,21,22], antifertility [23], antibacterial [24], antifungal [25], antiprotozoal [26], anthelmintic [27] and insecticidal [28] activities. Treatment of rats with the seed extract for up to 12 weeks has been reported to induce changes in the hemogram that include an increase in both the packed cell volume and hemoglobin [29] and a decrease in plasma concentrations of cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose [30].…”

Protective Effects of Nigella sativa against Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury of Kidneys

“…[17] Various therapeutic effects (e.g., anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antihistaminic, and antibacterial) have also been attributed to NS. [5][6][7] These effects may be related to the inhibition of eicosanoid generation, namely thromboxane B2 (by inhibiting cyclooxygenase), leukotrienes B4 (by inhibiting 5-lipooxygenase), and membrane lipid peroxidation. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that Nigella sativa might have protective effects against the nephrotoxicity induced either by disease or chemicals.…”

“…[4] NS has been reported to exhibit anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and anti-neoplastic effects in many experimental and clinical studies. [5][6][7] To our knowledge, the study on effect of intraperitoneal application of NS on renal I/R injury has not been previously performed. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether intraperitoneal administration of NS protects the kidney against the renal I/R injury in rats.…”

Nigella sativa OIL COULD INDUCE OSTEOGENIC DIFFERENTIATION OF DENTAL PULP MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS: CLINICAL NUTRITION FOR DENTISTRY

“…The beneficial effects attributed to N. sativa are related to their antioxidant, antidiabetic, antihistaminic, antiepileptic, antibacterial, antitumor properties (Ali and Blunden, 2003;Kaleem et al, 2006;Kanter et al, 2006;Mabrouk et al, 2002). Furthermore, numerous studies have shown that seeds and oil from this plant are characterized by a very low degree of toxicity (Ali and Blunden, 2003).…”