Protective effects of black cumin (Nigella sativa) and its bioactive constituent, thymoquinone against kidney injury: An aspect on pharmacological insights

Md Abdul Hannan, Md Sarwar Zahan, Partha Protim Sarker, Akhi Moni, Hunjoo Ha, Md Jamal Uddin

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is increasing worldwide, and a close association between acute kidney injury (AKI) and CKD has recently been identified. Black cumin (Nigella sativa) has been shown to be effective in treating various kidney diseases. Accumulating evidence shows that black cumin and its vital compound, thymoquinone (TQ), can protect against kidney injury caused by various xenobiotics, namely chemotherapeutic agents, heavy metals, pes-ticides, and other environmental chemicals. Black cumin can also protect the kidneys from ischemic shock. The mechanisms underlying the kidney protective potential of black cumin and TQ include antioxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-apoptosis, and antifibrosis which are manifested in their regulatory role in the antioxidant defense system, NF-κB signaling, caspase pathways, and TGF-β sig-naling. In clinical trials, black seed oil was shown to normalize blood and urine parameters and improve disease outcomes in advanced CKD patients. While black cumin and its products have shown promising kidney protective effects, information on nanoparticle-guided targeted delivery into kidney is still lacking. Moreover, the clinical evidence on this natural product is not sufficient to recommend it to CKD patients. This review provides insightful information on the pharmacological benefits of black cumin and TQ against kidney damage.

Original languageEnglish
Article number9078
JournalInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences
Volume22
Issue number16
DOIs
StatePublished - 2 Aug 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Keywords

  • Black cumin
  • Kidney injury
  • Nephrotoxicity
  • Thymoquinone
  • Xenobiotic stress

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