https://imcjms.com/public Ibrahim Medical College Journal of Medical Science https://imcjms.com/public/registration/journal_full_text/205 Sun, 30 Apr 2017 15:10:58 +0000 Nigella sativa Linn (Family: Ranunculaceae) Bengali name “kalo jera” is used as spice in Bengali foods. Native to Western Asia, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt, the black seed oil has been valued for its health benefits for centuries. This plant has been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of stomach aches, asthma, bronchitis, coughs, fevers, tumour and as a tonic. The dried and grounded seed was extracted with ethanol and the extract was evaluated for anti-inflammatory activity in carrageenan induced rat paw edema model. The extracts were administered orally at the doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight, and statistically significant (p<0.05) anti-inflammatory effects were observed in a dose dependant manner. The extract showed 28.75% and 43.79% inhibition of inflammation at the doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight after first hour of the carrageenan administration which was comparable to that of standard drugs aspirin 40.52% and hydrocortisone 47.71% respectively. The result of this study supported the traditional medicinal uses of this seed. Address for Correspondence:Dr. Saima Parveen, Lecturer, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College, Moghbazar, Dhaka, Bangladesh   Inflammation is a protective response intended to eliminate the initial cause of cell injury as well as the necrotic cells and tissues resulting from the original insult.1 The anti-inflammatory drugs which are currently available are a heterogeneous group of compounds, often chemically unrelated, which nevertheless share certain unwanted effects. The most common is a propensity to induce ulceration. Therefore, the present trend is to find out more acceptable agents which will be devoid of the potential adverse effect. Use of herbal medicine throughout the world is increasing. Plants are the primary source of supply of many important drugs used in modern medicine. Our chosen herb Nigella sativa Linn (Family: Ranuculaceae) is a common spice of south east Asia. N. sativa (locally called Kalajira) has been in use in Bangladesh, India & many Middle Eastern communities as natural remedy of many acute conditions for two thousand years. Various research works proved previously that thymoquinone- an active component of N. sativa is a potent inhibitor of prostaglandins (PGs), histamine, 5HT, leucotrienes polymorphonuclear leucocytes.2   Plant Material Extraction   Long Evans Norwegian rats of either sex (weighing 200-250gm) were collected from BSMMU research division. The animals were kept in polyvinyl cages under controlled room temperature (25±2 ºC) in the laboratory environment. The rats were kept 12 h in dark and 12 h light cycle for seven days. The ICDDR, B formulated food pellets were supplied to the animals along with water ad libitum. Animals were fasted overnight and weighed before the experiment. The study involving rats was approved by the Bangladesh Medical Research Council, and the experiments were carried out strictly in accordance with the guidelines provided by the World Health Organization. Preparation of the samples   The anti-inflammatory activity of the extracts of N. sativa was measured by the carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema model.3 Experimental animals were randomly selected, irrespective of sexes, and divided into five groups consisting of 6 rats in each group. Group I: Received 0.6ml normal saline administered orally and served as control. Group-II: received ethanol extract of N. sativa 250mg/kg (0.6ml) body weight administered orally. Group-III: received ethanol extract of Nigella sativa 500mg/kg (0.6ml) body weight administered orally. Group-IV: received aspirin 100mg/kg body weight administered orally. Group-V: received hydrocortisone 2mg/kg body weight administered subcutaneously. After 1 h of treatment, acute inflammation was produced by sub-planter injection of 0.1 ml of 1% suspension of carrageenan in sterile water in the right hind paw of the rats. The paw volume was measured plethysmometrically (Ugo Basile, Italy) after one hour of carrageenan injection. Results were expressed as percentage of inhibition of oedema calculated by the formula- (1 - Vt/Vc) × 100, where Vt and Vc are the mean paw volume in the treated and controlled groups, respectively. Statistical Analysis   The mean initial (0 hr.) paw volume of group-I, II, III, IV and V were 117.25±1.28, 121.05±3.32, 133.69±2.48, 128.63±5.16, 131.59±4.63 respectively. Simultaneously the mean paw volume after 1 hour of Carrageenan injection pretreated with test drugs were 193.75±2.14, 175.55±2.10, 176.69±1.17, 174.13±1.68, 171.59±1.23 respectively (Table- 1). All units were expressed in mm3. The percentage inhibition of oedema formation in group - II, III, IV and V were 28.75%, 43.79%, 40.52%, 47.71% at a dose of N. sativa 250mg/kg, N. sativa 500mg/kg, aspirin 100mg/kg and hydrocortisone 2mg/kg body weight respectively in comparison to control (Table-1). From the result it was found that a significant anti-inflammatory effect was exhibited by the ethanolic extract of N. sativa at 500mg/kg body weight with 43.79% inhibition. Table-1: Effects of administration of ethanol extract of N. sativa, aspirin and hydrocortisone on carrageenan-induced paw oedema after 1 hour of carrageenan injection.   The frequency of intake of NSAIDs and their reported common side effects is increasing day by day, there is need to focus on the scientific exploration of herbal drugs having fewer side effects. So, there is a continuous search for indigenous drugs, which can provide relief to inflammation. To give a scientific validation to the plant N. sativa, an attempt was made to study the anti-inflammatory activity4 of the ethanolic extract of its seeds. Administration of ethanol extract of ground seed of N. sativa at a dose of 250 mg/kg and 500mg/kg body weight orally exerted anti-inflammatory effect, where the percentage of inhibition of oedema formation was 28.75% and 43.79% respectively. And the effect was dose dependent. Following the administration of aspirin and hydrocortisone the percentage of inhibition of oedema were 40.52% in aspirin and 47.71% in hydrocortisone. The effect of N. sativa extract at a dose of 500mg/kg body weight was better than that of non-steroidal reference standard aspirin, and was little bit less than that of steroidal  hydrocortisone. Thus it can be concluded that ground seed of the plant N. sativa possess significant anti-inflammatory activity in rats. Further studies involving the purification of the chemical constituents of the plant and the investigations to elucidate mechanism of action and safety profile may result in the development of a potent anti-inflammatory agent with a low toxicity and better therapeutic index. Acknowledgement   1.   Robbins and Cotran, Acute and Chronic inflammation: Pathologic basis of discase. Published by Elsevier, a division of Reed Elsevier India Private Limited 2007; 31-58. 3.   Winter CA, Risley EA, Nuss GW. Carrageenan induced oedema in hind paw of the rat as an assay for anti-inflammatory drugs. P Soc Exp Biol Med 1962; 111: 544-547. 5.   Tekeoglu I, Dogan A, Demiralp L, Effects of thymoquinone (volatile oil of black cumin) on rheumatoid arthritis in rat models, Yuzuncu Yil University, Medical School, Department of Rehabilitation and Rheumatology, Maras cad. 65100, Van, Turkey. Phytother res 2006; 20(10): 869-71. 2026 Ibrahim Medical College. All rights reserved.