Dermaceutical Utilization of Nigella sativa Seeds: Applications and Opportunities

Abstract

Skin diseases have recently become a major concern among people of all ages due to their highly visible symptoms and persistent and difficult treatment, which significantly impact their quality of life. Nigella sativa seeds, also known as "black seeds" or "kalonji," are one of the most commonly used herbal medicines due to their wide range of biological and pharmacological activities. It contains a wide range of bioactive constituents found in both fixed and essential oils. It has been used for hundreds of years as an alternative ethnomedicine to treat a wide range of skin conditions. N. sativa's dermatological applications in skin diseases are attributed to its potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and immunomodulatory properties, making it an intriguing skincare candidate. Several studies unravelled positive results associated with N. sativa on skin diseases. As N. sativa is the most studied medicinal plant, several preclinical and clinical studies have been conducted to establish its use in the treatment of various skin diseases. Thymoquinone has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties, which mainly contributed to the treatment of skin diseases. In this context, the present review explores all the available studies on the association of N. sativa and its effect on treating skin diseases in light of recent studies and patents supporting its therapeutic applications.

Key words

Nigella sativa l - thymoquinone - skin diseases - toxicity - cosmeceutical applications - patent status

Publication History

Received: 04 August 2023

Accepted: 16 October 2023

Article published online:
28 November 2023

• References

• 1 Nasiri N, Ilaghi NM, Sharififar F. et al The Therapeutic Effects of Nigella sativa on Skin Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2022; Article ID 7993579, 9
• 2 Eid AM, Elmarzugi NA, Abu Ayyash LM. et al. A review on the cosmeceutical and external applications of nigella sativa. J Trop Med 2017; 7092514
• 3 Ahmad A, Husain A, Mujeeb M. et al. A review on therapeutic potential of Nigella sativa: A miracle herb. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed 2013; 3: 337-352
• 4 Youssef FS. Nigella sativa Seeds in Cosmetic Products: Shedding the Light on the Cosmeceutical Potential of Nigella sativa and its Utilization as a Natural Beauty Care Ingredient. In: Fawzy Ramadan, M. (eds) Black cumin (Nigella sativa) seeds: Chemistry, Technology, Functionality, and Applications. Food Bioactive Ingredients. Springer; 2021. Cham:
• 5 Thakur S, Kaurav H, Chaudhary G. Nigella sativa (Kalonji): A Black Seed of Miracle. Int J Res Rev 2021; 8: 342-57
• 6 Tembhurne SV, Feroz S, More BH. et al. A review on therapeutic potential of Nigella sativa (kalonji) seeds. Journal of medicinal plants research 2014; 8: 167-77
• 7 Chevallier A. Encyclopedia of medicinal plants. New York, NY: DK Publishing; 1996: 237
• 8 Forouzanfar F, Bazzaz BS, Hosseinzadeh H. Black cumin (Nigella sativa) and its constituent (thymoquinone): a review on antimicrobial effects. Iran J Basic Med Sci 2014; 17: 929-938
• 9 Cheikh-Rouhou S, Besbes S, Lognay G. et al. Sterol composition of black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) and Aleppo pine (Pinus halpensis Mill.) seed oils. J. Food Comp Anal 2008; 21: 162-168
• 10 Gholamnezhad Z, Keyhanmanesh R, Boskabady MH. Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory aspects of Nigella sativa for its preventive and bronchodilatory effects on obstructive respiratory diseases: A review of basic and clinical evidence. J Functional Foods 2015; 17: 910-927
• 11 Sharma PC, Yelne MB, Dennis TJ. et al. Database on medicinal plants used in Ayurveda. New Delhi 2005; 420-440
• 12 Padhye S, Banerjee S, Ahmad A. et al. From here to eternity-the secret of Pharaohs: Therapeutic potential of black cumin seeds and beyond. Cancer Therapy 2008; 6: 495
• 13 Salima T, Ouijdane B, Mohamed B. et al Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant Activity of Nigella sativa L Growing in Morocco. Sci World J 2021; Article ID 6623609 12
• 14 Zielińska M, Dereń K, Polak-Szczybyło E. et al. The Role of Bioactive Compounds of Nigella sativa in Rheumatoid Arthritis Therapy-Current Reports. Nutrients 2021; 13: 3369-3375
• 15 Sahak MK, Kabir N, Abbas G. et al. The role of Nigella sativa and its active constituents in learning and memory. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2016; 2016
• 16 Nickavar B, Mojab F, Javidnia K. et al. Chemical composition of the fixed and volatile oils of Nigella sativa L. from Iran. Z Naturforsch C 2003; 58: 629-631
• 17 Bourgou S, Ksouri R, Bellila A. et al. Phenolic composition and biological activities of Tunisian Nigella sativa L. shoots and roots. C R Biol 2008; 331: 48-55
• 18 Ahmad A, Husain A, Mujeeb M. et al. A review on therapeutic potential of Nigella sativa: A miracle herb. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed 3: 337-352
• 19 Abedi AS, Rismanchi M, Shahdoostkhany M. et al. Microwave-assisted extraction of Nigella sativa L. essential oil and evaluation of its antioxidant activity. J Food Sci Technol 2017; 54: 3779-3790
• 20 Kadam D, Lele SS. Extraction, characterization and bioactive properties of Nigella sativa seedcake. J Food Sci Technol 2017; 54: 3936-3947
• 21 Ahmad MF, Ahmad FA, Ashraf SA. et al. An updated knowledge of Black seed (Nigella sativa Linn.): Review of phytochemical constituents and pharmacological properties. J Herb Med 2021; 25: 100404
• 22 Emeka LB, Emeka PM, Khan TM. Antimicrobial activity of Nigella sativa L. seed oil against multi-drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from diabetic wounds Pak. J Pharm Sci 2015; 28: 1985-1990
• 23 Chaieb K, Kouidhi B, Jrah H. et al. Antibacterial activity of Thymoquinone, an active principle of Nigella sativa and its potency to prevent bacterial biofilm formation. BMC Complement Altern. Med 2011; 11: 1-6
• 24 Salem EM, Yar T, Bamosa AO. et al. Comparative study of Nigella Sativa and triple therapy in eradication of Helicobacter Pylori in patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia. Saudi J Gastroenterol 2010; 16: 207
• 25 Salman MT, Khan RA, Shukla I. Antibacterial activity of Nigella Sativa Linn. seeds against multiple antibiotics resistant clinical strains of Staphylococcus aureus. IABCR 2016; 2: 96-99
• 26 Derbal S, Niar A. Antibacterial activity of honey and Nigella sativa L. seed extracts against animal wound bacteria. Int J Vet Sci Res 2019; 5: 030-034
• 27 Nishanthini K, Paheerathan V, Piratheepkumar R. et al. Evaluate the efficacy of Antimicrobial activity of aqueous extract of Nigella Sativa seeds powder on Staphylococcus Aureus 2021; 3(3): 972-977
• 28 Shafodino FS, Lusilao JM, Mwapagha LM. Phytochemical characterization and antimicrobial activity of Nigella sativa seeds. PLoS ONE 2022; 17: e0272457
• 29 Barakat EM, El Wakeel LM, Hagag RS. Effects of Nigella sativa on outcome of hepatitis C in Egypt. World J Gastroenterol 2013; 19: 2529
• 30 Taha M, Azeiz AZ, Saudi W. Antifungal effect of thymol, thymoquinone and thymohydroquinone against yeasts, dermatophytes and non-dermatophyte molds isolated from skin and nails fungal infections. Egypt J Biochem Mol Biol. 2010: 28(2)
• 31 Shokri H. A review on the inhibitory potential of Nigella sativa against pathogenic and toxigenic fungi. Avicenna J. Phytomedicine 2016; 6: 21
• 32 Mahmoudvand H, Sepahvand A, Jahanbakhsh S. et al. Evaluation of antifungal activities of the essential oil and various extracts of Nigella sativa and its main component, thymoquinone against pathogenic dermatophyte strains. Journal de mycologie medicale 2014; 24: e155-e161
• 33 Villar Rodríguez J, Pérez-Pico AM, Mingorance-Álvarez E. et al. Meta-analysis of the antifungal activities of three essential oils as alternative therapies in dermatophytosis infections. Journal of Applied Microbiology 2022; 133: 241-253
• 34 Piras A, Rosa A, Marongiu B. et al. Chemical composition and in vitro bioactivity of the volatile and fixed oils of Nigella sativa L. extracted by supercritical carbon dioxide. Ind Crops Prod 2013; 46: 317-323
• 35 Shah SB, Shah SI, Sartaj L. et al. Effect of Nigella sativa seeds extracts on clinically important bacterial and fungal species. MOJ Bioequiv Availab 2018; 5: 218-221
• 36 Ali FB, Ali RV, Mohammad HA. et al. The in vivo antileishmanial activity of alcoholic extract from Nigella sativa seeds. Afr J Microbiol Res 2011; 5: 1504-1510
• 37 Okeola VO, Adaramoye OA, Nneji CM. et al. Antimalarial and antioxidant activities of methanolic extract of Nigella sativa seeds (black cumin) in mice infected with Plasmodium yoelli nigeriensis. Parasitology research 2011; 108: 1507-1512
• 38 Bergqvist C, Ezzedine K. Vitiligo: a review. Dermatology. 2020; 236: 571-592
• 39 Frisoli ML, Essien K, Harris JE. Vitiligo: mechanisms of pathogenesis and treatment. Annu Rev Immunol 2020; 38: 621-648
• 40 Whitton ME, Pinart M, Batchelor J. et al. Interventions for vitiligo. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2015
• 41 Ghorbanibirgani A, Khalili A, Rokhafrooz D. Comparing Nigella sativa oil and fish oil in treatment of vitiligo. Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal 2014; 16
• 42 Sarac G, Kapicioglu Y, Sener S. et al. Effectiveness of topical Nigella sativa for vitiligo treatment. Dermatol Ther 2019; 32: e12949
• 43 Ali SA, Meitei KV. Nigella sativa seed extract and its bioactive compound thymoquinone: the new melanogens causing hyperpigmentation in the wall lizard melanophores. J Phary Pharmacol 2011; 63: 741-746
• 44 Zaidi KU, Khan FN, Ali SA. et al. Insight into mechanistic action of thymoquinone-induced melanogenesis in cultured melanocytes. Protein Pept Lett 2019; 26: 910-918
• 45 Kamiya K, Kishimoto M, Sugai J. et al. Risk factors for the development of psoriasis. In J Mol Sci. 2019. 20. 4347
• 46 Dwarampudi LP, Palaniswamy D, Muruganantham Nithyanantham PS. Antipsoriatic activity and cytotoxicity of ethanolic extract of Nigella sativa seeds. Pharmacog Mag 2012; 8: 268
• 47 Ahmed Jawad H, Ibraheem Azhar Y, Al-Hamdi et al. Evaluation of efficacy, safety and antioxidant effect of Nigella sativa in patients with psoriasis: A randomized clinical trial. J Clin Exp Invest www. jceionline. org Vol 2014; 5: 186–193
• 48 Okasha EF, Bayomy NA, Abdelaziz EZ. Effect of Topical Application of Black Seed Oil on Imiquimod-Induced Psoriasis-like Lesions in the Thin Skin of Adult Male Albino Rats. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2018; 301: 166-174
• 49 Negi P, Sharma I, Hemrajani C. et al. Thymoquinone-loaded lipid vesicles: a promising nanomedicine for psoriasis. BMC Complement Altern Med 2019; 19: 334
• 50 Eichenfield DZ, Sprague J, Eichenfield LF. Management of Acne Vulgaris: A Review. JAMA 2021; 326: 2055-2067
• 51 Nawarathne NW, Wijesekera K, Wijayaratne WM. et al. Development of novel topical cosmeceutical formulations from Nigella sativa L. with antimicrobial activity against acne-causing microorganisms. Sci World J. 2019 2019.
• 52 Hadi NA, Ashor AW. Nigella sativa oil lotion 20% vs. benzoyl peroxide lotion 5% in the treatment of mild to moderate acne vulgaris. Postgrad Med J 2010; 9: 371-376
• 53 Bhalani U, Shah K. Preparation and evaluation of topical gel of Nigella sativa (kalonji). Int J Curr. Pharm Res 2015; 4: 1669-1672
• 54 Avena-Woods C. Overview of atopic dermatitis. Am J Manag Care 2017; 23: S115-S123
• 55 Yousefi M, Barikbin B, Kamalinejad M. et al. Comparison of therapeutic effect of topical Nigella with Betamethasone and Eucerin in hand eczema. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2013; 27: 1498-1504
• 56 Soad S, Salim N. Topical 10% nigella sativa (black seed) ointment a remedy for atopic dermatitis. IOSR J Dent Med Sci 2019; 18: 11-15
• 57 Widyaswari MS, Noventi I, Sufriyana H. Anti-eczema Mechanism of Action of Nigella sativa for Atopic Dermatitis: Computer-aided Prediction and Pathway Analysis Based on Protein-chemical Interaction Networks. Biomol Health Sci J 2019; 2: 68-74
• 58 Kerem UR, Gültekin M, Erdoğan H. Efficacy of topical Curcuma longa and Nigella sativa combination for feline head and neck dermatitis: an open pilot study. Kafkas Univ Vet Fak Derg 2019; 25 (4): 517–522
• 59 McCullough JL, Kelly KM. Prevention and treatment of skin ageing. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2006; 1067: 323-331
• 60 Shahroudi MJ, Mehri S, Hosseinzadeh H. Anti-aging effect of Nigella sativa fixed oil on D-galactose-induced ageing in mice. J Pharmacopuncture 2017; 20: 29
• 61 Li H, DaSilva NA, Liu W. et al. Thymocid®, standardized black cumin (Nigella sativa) seed extract, modulates collagen cross-linking, collagenase and elastase activities, and melanogenesis in murine B16F10 melanoma cells. Nutrients. 2020; 12: 2146
• 62 Noor NS, Kaus NH, Szewczuk MR. et al. Formulation, characterization and cytotoxicity effects of novel thymoquinone-PLGA-PF68 nanoparticles. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22: 9420
• 63 Mehraj T, Elkanayati RM, Farooq I. et al. A review of Nigella sativa and its active principles as anticancer agents. Black Seeds (Nigella Sativa) 2022; 91-118
• 64 Samarghandian S, Borji A. Anticarcinogenic effect of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) and its ingredients. Pharmacogn Res 6: 99-107
• 65 Salomi MJ, Nair SC, Panikkar KR. Inhibitory effects of Nigella sativa and saffron (Crocus sativus) on chemical carcinogenesis in mice. Nutr Cancer 1991; 16: 67-72
• 66 Mabrouk GM, Moselhy SS, Zohny SF. et al. Inhibition of methylnitrosourea (MNU) induced oxidative stress and carcinogenesis by orally administered bee honey and Nigella grains in Sprague Dawely rats. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2002; 21: 341-346
• 67 Ibrahim WN, Muizzuddin Bin Mohd Rosli L, Doolaanea AA. Formulation, Cellular Uptake and Cytotoxicity of Thymoquinone-Loaded PLGA Nanoparticles in Malignant Melanoma Cancer Cells. Int J Nanomedicine 2020; 15: 8059-8074
• 68 Sorg H, Tilkorn DJ, Hager S. et al. Skin wound healing: an update on the current knowledge and concepts. Eur Surg Res 2017; 58: 81-94
• 69 Sallehuddin N, Nordin A, Bt Hj Idrus R. et al. Nigella sativa and Its Active Compound, Thymoquinone, Accelerate Wound Healing in an In Vivo Animal Model: A Comprehensive Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020; 17: 4160
• 70 Yaman I, Durmus AS, Ceribasi S. et al. Effects of Nigella sativa and silver sulfadiazine on burn wound healing in rats. Vet Med 2010; 55: 619-624
• 71 Sarkhail P, Esmaily H, Baghaei A. et al. Burn healing potential of Nigella sativa seed oil in rats. Int J Pharm Sci Res 2011; 2: 34-40
• 72 Abu-Al-Basal MA. Influence of nigella sativa fixed oil on some blood parameters and histopathology of skin in staphylococcal-infected BalB/C mice. Pak J Biol Sci 2011; 14: 1038-1046
• 73 Nourbar E, Mirazi N, Yari S. et al. Effect of Hydroethanolic Extract of Nigella sativa L. on Skin Wound Healing Process in Diabetic Male Rats. Int J Prev Med 2019; 10: 18
• 74 Betul AY, Semin G. Wound healing effects of Nigella sativa L. essential oil in streptozotocin-induced in diabetic rats. GSC Biol Pharm Sci 2019; 7
• 75 Burits M, Bucar F. Antioxidant activity of Nigella sativa essential oil. Phytother Res 2000; 14: 323-328
• 76 Guzmán E, Lucia A. Essential Oils and Their Individual Components in Cosmetic Products. Cosmetics 2021; 8: 114-120
• 77 Shantanu K, Prashant G, Ammar A. et al. Formulation and in-vitro determination of sun protection factor of Nigella sativa Linn. seed oil sunscreen cream. International J PharmTech Res 2010; 2: 2194-2197
• 78 Ali BH, Blunden G. Pharmacological and toxicological properties of Nigella sativa. Phytother Res 2003; 17: 299-305
• 79 Tavakkoli A, Mahdian V, Razavi BM. et al. Review on clinical trials of black seed (Nigella sativa) and its active constituent, thymoquinone. J Pharmacopuncture 2017; 20: 179
• 80 Ramalingam K, Kuttan R, Sivadasan SD. et al. Safety Assessment of Thymoquinone rich Black Cumin (Nigella sativa) Oil (BlaQmax®): Acute and Subchronic Toxicity Studies. J Nutr Food Sci 2021; 11: 811
• 81 Sohail T, Yasmeen S, Imran H. et al. Standardization and skin irritation potential of herbal analgesic cream containing Nigella sativa seed oil. Bangladesh. J Medical Sci 2020; 19: 163-168