ANTIOXIDANT, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY, ANTICANCER AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITIES OF EXTRACTS FROM NIGELLA SATIVA (BLACK CUMIN) PLANT PARTS

Nigella sativa is a one of the most commonly found aromatics in the Mediterranean kitchen. This plant is traditionally used for the treatment of several pathologies. In this study, the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antibacterial activities of the shoots, roots and seeds methanol extracts from N. sativa were studied. The three organs exhibited strong antioxidant activity using the oxygen radical absorbance capacity method and a cell-based assay. Furthermore, the seeds hexane fraction (SHF) of the methanol extract showed significant anti-inflammatory activity, inhibiting nitric oxide release with an IC50 value of 6.20 mu g/mL in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. The SHF was found to be active against A-549 lung carcinoma cells and DLD-1 colon carcinoma, with IC50 values of 31.0 and 63.0 mu g/mL, respectively, as well as against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) and Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) bacteria with IC50 values of 38.0 and 80.0 mu g/mL, respectively. The shoots methanol extract exhibited moderate anti-inflammatory activity but no anticancer and antibacterial activities. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The results obtained suggest that Nigella sativa plant parts, including the shoots, the roots and the seeds, have the potential to be developed into dietary supplements as food preservative and for the improvement of human nutrition and health. In addition, the seeds could be useful for therapeutical purposes and could be developed as anticancer agent and as foodborne preservative as well as for the treatment of chronic inflammatory pathologies associated with overproduction of nitric oxide.