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Black cumin has been valued as a medicinal product since ancient times. The active ingredient has preventive and therapeutic effects. The active ingredient thymoquinone is probably responsible for the health effects of black cumin. It is found in the essential oil that black cumin contains:
The seeds of black cumin contain up to 2.5% essential oil with the main substances ρ-cymene (36%), thymoquinone (11%) and α-thujene (10%). The seeds also contain carotenes and polyunsaturated fatty acids. In cold-pressed oil, the content of linoleic acid was 55%, oleic acid 24% and palmitic acid 15% (Ibrahim et al., 2017).
A characteristic feature is the high content of vitamin E, i.e. ß-tocotrienol (about 1200 mg/100 g cold-pressed oil) and γ-tocotrienol (about 200 mg/100 g oil).
In addition, the seeds contain phenols, sterols, alkaloids and saponins (Hassanien et al., 2015).
Black cumin also contains the trace elements zinc, chromium, vanadium, manganese and selenium, and the elements magnesium, calcium, potassium, sodium and barium (Sium et al., 2016). Each kg of seeds contains 15.4 mg of vitamin B1, 57 mg of vitamin B3 (niacin), 5 mg of vitamin B6 and 160 μg of folic acid (Khan, 1999).
Therapeutic Use of Black Cumin Oil
Summary
Black cumin is best studied in the diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hyperlipidemia:
In meta-studies, black cumin reduced elevated fasting blood sugar and glycated hemoglobin. Responsiveness to insulin increased. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure had fallen by about 3 mmHg after 8 weeks. Total cholesterol decreased by 16 mg%, LDL cholesterol by 14 mg% and triglycerides by 21 mg%. HDL cholesterol was not affected.
The results of studies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimotothyroiditis and vitiligowhich prove its effectiveness in autoimmune diseases.
Studies in patients with bronchial asthma, hay fever and atopic eczema point to the anti-asthmatic and anti-allergic effects of black cumin.
The study situation in patients with osteoarthritis, cancer and children with epileptic seizures is still insufficient, although animal experiments provide evidence of effectiveness in these indications.
Further indications for the therapeutic use of black cumin are dyspepsia, menopausal symptoms, recurrent mastalgia, acne, infertility in men and drug addiction These indications are also supported by experimental results.
Animal models for Alzheimer's dementia and to Parkinson's disease indicate that black cumin could also be a therapeutic option for neurodegenerative diseases.
Selected clinical studies:
Cognitive abilities
The study included 48 adolescents between the ages of 14 and 17.They were randomly assigned to receive either 500 mg of black cumin seed powder or 500 mg of placebo (psyllium husk powder) over a period of 4 weeks. While the parameters before treatment did not differ between the groups, treatment with black cumin seed powder resulted in improved cognitive performance, improved mood, and reduced anxiety (Bin Sayeed et al., 2014).
In an earlier study, the authors randomly treated 40 elderly patients with black cumin seed powder (1000 mg/day) or placebo (psyllium husks) for 9 weeks. In various neuropsychological tests, memory, attention and cognitive performance improved with black cumin treatment.
diabetes mellitus
The systematic review by Mohtashami and Entezari from 2016 on the effectiveness of black cumin on blood lipids, blood sugar, blood pressure and anthropometric factors (weight, body mass index, waist circumference) included 18 original studies with 1531 patients:
In 4 of the 9 studies on its effectiveness on blood pressure, black cumin lowered blood pressure. Fasting blood sugar decreased significantly in 13 studies, as did HbA1c - when determined. In 2 of 8 studies, weight loss and a reduction in waist circumference occurred.
The review therefore indicates an improvement in the diabetic metabolic situation.
Heshmati and Namazi (2015) also concluded in their systematic review that black cumin lowers high blood sugar and blood lipid levels. In addition to the antioxidant effect, it also influences insulin secretion, glucose absorption, gluconeogenesis and gene expression.
In a long-term study over one year in 60 diabetics (type 2, HbA1c >7%) who were inadequately controlled with oral antidiabetics, they received either 2 g
Black cumin seed powder per day or charcoal powder. In the black cumin group, HbA1c decreased significantly in contrast to the control group. The authors concluded from the result that the black cumin seed powder had an antidiabetogenic and cardioprotective effect (Bamosa et al., 2015).
In a long-term study over 1 year with 114 diabetics (type II), they were randomly assigned to receive either 2 g of black cumin seed powder per day or charcoal powder. In the black cumin group, the diabetic metabolic situation improved as measured by fasting blood sugar, HbA1c and serum TBARS. In addition, the total antioxidant capacity, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) increased in the black cumin group. This was accompanied by a decrease in insulin resistance and an increase in pancreatic β-cell activity as measured by the HOMA 2 calculator (Kaatabi et al. 2015).
In an open study in patients with stage 3 or 4 diabetic nephropathy, they received 2.5 ml of black seed oil daily for 12 weeks or the usual conservative therapy. The black seed oil resulted in a decrease in blood sugar, urea and creatinine, protein excretion in 24-hour urine, and an increase in glomerular filtration rate and urine volume excreted (Ansari et al., 2017).
In a dose-finding study in 94 type 2 diabetics who were randomized over 3 months and received either 1 g, 2 g or 3 g of black cumin seeds per day in addition to their antidiabetic medication, the treatment success was measured by the parameters blood sugar, HbA1c, C-peptide and body weight as well as by insulin resistance and beta-cell function determined with the HOMA-2 calculator.The group that received 2 g of seeds per day had the best treatment effect on sugar metabolism. HbAlc had fallen by 1.5% after 12 weeks. Insulin resistance had decreased and beta cell function had increased. In the group that received 3 g of seeds per day, the metabolic situation could not be further improved (Bamosa et al., 2010).
high blood pressure
11 randomized controlled trials were included in a meta-analysis (860 people with normal or high blood pressure). 10 of the trials compared black seed products with placebo, 1 trial tested against antihypertensive therapy. After 8 weeks of treatment, mean systolic blood pressure had dropped from 133 to 125 mmHg, and diastolic blood pressure from 83 to 78 mmHg. The difference between the reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure was 3 mmHg each (Sahebkar et al., 2016a).
Rheumatoid Arthritis
A randomized, double-blind study included 50 patients with rheumatoid arthritis between the ages of 20 and 50. The patients received either 0.5 g of black seed oil or a placebo twice over 8 weeks. The "Disease Activity Score" (DAS 28) decreased more in the black seed oil group than in the placebo group. This was accompanied by higher serum interleukin-10 concentrations and lower MDA and NO concentrations (Hadi et al., 2016).
In a randomized, double-blind study lasting 2 months, 43 women with rheumatoid arthritis between the ages of 20 and 50 received either 500 mg of cold-pressed black seed oil twice or a placebo. The black seed oil treatment resulted in a decrease in the elevated sensitive CRP (indicator of inflammation), the DAS-28 score and the number of swollen joints (Kheirouri et al., 2016).
In a placebo-controlled study, 40 women with rheumatoid arthritis were enrolled and given two starch-filled capsules daily for one month and then 500 mg of black seed oil twice daily for a further month. The DAS-28 decreased significantly with black seed oil compared to placebo treatment. In line with this, the number of swollen joints and the duration of morning stiffness decreased. The additional administration of black seed oil to therapy with DMARDs (disease modifying antirheumatic drugs)
drugs) therefore seems reasonable (Gheita et al., 2012).
Hashimoto's thyroiditis
Hashimoto is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. 40 patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis aged between 22 and 50 years were treated for 8 weeks with either 2 g of black cumin seed powder per day or with placebo. After treatment with the powder, weight and BMI had decreased. The increased serum TSH Concentrations and anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies had decreased and T3 concentrations had increased (Farhangi et al., 2016).
bronchial asthma
In a randomized double-blind study, 80 asthmatics were included and received either 0.5 g of black cumin oil twice a day or a placebo for 4 weeks. The main target criterion was the asthma score in the previous 4 weeks. At 21.1 points, the asthma score was significantly higher after treatment with black cumin oil than after treatment with the placebo. The improvement in the lung function test also showed a trend towards effectiveness. Only with treatment with black cumin oil did the increased eosinophils in the peripheral blood normalize (Koshak et al., 2017).
In a single-blind study, patients with asthma were randomly assigned to receive either 1 g or 2 g of black cumin seeds per day or a placebo in addition to standard inhalation therapy for 3 months. Six and 12 weeks after taking 2 g of seeds per day, vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in one second had increased significantly, and the number of asthma attacks had decreased significantly. Peak expiratory flow had also increased with 1 g of seeds per day. Taking black cumin seeds resulted in a decrease in the fractional exhaled nitric oxide (NO) and serum IgE. Interferon-γ had increased and respiratory function tests had improved (Salem et al., 2017).
In a randomized, controlled study involving 29 asthmatics, they received either 15 mL/kg of a 0.1% boiled extract of black cumin seeds or a placebo for 3 months. During the black cumin treatment, asthma symptoms (frequency of symptoms per week, spastic breathing sounds and lung function values) improved significantly. The patients in the black cumin group also required fewer anti-asthmatics such as oral beta-agonists, cortisone, euphyllin or morphine.Cortisone sprays (Boskabady et al., 2007).
vitiligo
Vitiligo is also an autoimmune disease. Due to the destruction of melanocytes, dark skin pigment (melanin) is no longer produced.
A randomized, double-blind study included 52 patients with vitiligo. They treated the lesions with either black seed oil or fish oil twice daily for 6 months. From the third month of treatment, treatment with black seed oil resulted in a significant reduction in vitiligo lesions, which exceeded that of the fish oil group (Ghorbanibirgani et al., 2014).
Black cumin oil for cancer
There are publications from the field of basic research on black cumin in the treatment of cancer. The research mainly focuses on tests with black cumin extracts on cell and tissue cultures as well as on animal experiments. Researchers are mainly testing the main ingredient thymoquinone, an essential oil.
These experiments suggest that thymoquinone has various effects against cancer cells. In rats, thymoquinone caused tumors to shrink. In cell lines, it increased the effect of certain chemotherapeutic agents.
A few clinical studies on humans have also investigated the effect of black cumin on cancer side effects. They do suggest that black cumin may be helpful against individual, specific complaints. However, larger studies are needed to confirm these results.
dosage
The clinical studies carried out result in a daily dose of up to 3 grams of black cumin oil (source: University Hospital Freiburg):
Possible side effects
Itching or nausea were only occasionally reported in the studies (Farhangi et al., 2016). In one study, a slight drop in blood sugar occurred that did not lead to discontinuation of treatment (Barakat et al., 2013).
Allergic skin reactions, including toxic skin necrosis, are rare (Nosbaum et al., 2011 Bonhomme et al., 2017).