Researchers Find Black Seed Can Be Used as a Covid-19 Drug

JAKARTA – Australian researchers found that the seeds of the plant Nigella Sativa, better known as kalonji or Black Seed can be used in Covid-19 infection treatment . This plant, native to North Africa and West Asia, has been used for centuries as a traditional remedy for a variety of medical conditions, including inflammation and infection.

Reporting from India TV, Monday (9/8) a team from the University of Technology in Sydney found the active ingredient Nigella Sativa can prevent corona virus , the causative virus Covid-19 , causing lung infections.

“There is growing evidence from modeling studies that thymoquinone, the active ingredient of Nigella Sativa, better known as fennel flower, can attach to the spike protein of the Covid-19 virus and stop the virus from causing lung infections,” said the lead author and professor at the University of Technology in Sydney, Kaneez Fatima Shad.

“It can also block the ‘cytokine’ storm that affects terminally ill patients hospitalized with Covid-19,” he added.

The study was published in the journal Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology. Thymoquinone has been studied extensively in the laboratory, including animal studies. These studies have shown that it can moderate the immune system in a good way, by preventing the release of pro-inflammatory chemicals such as interleukins.

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This gives thymoquinone a potential role as a treatment for allergic conditions such as asthma, eczema, arthritis conditions including rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, and possibly even multiple sclerosis.

This study details the mechanism of action of Nigella Sativa and thymoquinone, as well as how they may be a promising future treatment for Covid-19 infection. There have been many barriers to the development of Nigella Sativa as a therapeutic agent largely due to its poor natural gastrointestinal absorption.

“Advances in pharmacological development such as nanotechnology have seen opportunities to overcome these barriers to enable their use as an effective oral drug,” explains co-author Dr Wissam Soubra.

“Furthermore, the drug has recently been successfully administered to patients as a topical nasal spray and paste,” he continued.

Nigella Sativa has been shown to be helpful in treating high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes mellitus. As an anti-inflammatory treatment, Nigella Sativa can also help patients with allergic rhinitis and sinusitis, eczema, osteoarthritis and childhood epilepsy.

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Another benefit is that it is effective in laboratory use in killing bacteria such as staphylococcus aureus which can cause a variety of mild to severe infections if they enter the skin, and viruses including influenza .

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