Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Nov 11:12:943-55.
eCollection 2013.

Beneficial therapeutic effects of Nigella sativa and/or Zingiber officinale in HCV patients in Egypt

Adel Abdel-Moneim  1 , Basant M Morsy  2 , Ayman M Mahmoud  1 , Mohamed A Abo-Seif  3 , Mohamed I Zanaty  2
Affiliations

Beneficial therapeutic effects of Nigella sativa and/or Zingiber officinale in HCV patients in Egypt

Adel Abdel-Moneim et al. EXCLI J. .

Abstract

Hepatitis C is a major global health burden and Egypt has the highest prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) worldwide. The current study was designed to evaluate the beneficial therapeutic effects of ethanolic extracts of Nigella sativa, Zingiber officinale and their mixture in Egyptian HCV patients. Sixty volunteer patients with proven HCV and fifteen age matched healthy subjects were included in this study. Exclusion criteria included patients on interferon alpha (IFN-α) therapy, infection with hepatitis B virus, drug-induced liver diseases, advanced cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or other malignancies, blood picture abnormalities and major severe illness. Liver function enzymes, albumin, total bilirubin, prothrombin time and concentration, international normalized ratio, alpha fetoprotein and viral load were all assessed at baseline and at the end of the study. Ethanolic extracts of Nigella sativa and Zingiber officinale were prepared and formulated into gelatinous capsules, each containing 500 mg of Nigella sativa and/or Zingiber officinale. Clinical response and incidence of adverse drug reactions were assessed initially, periodically, and at the end of the study. Both extracts as well as their mixture significantly ameliorated the altered viral load, alpha fetoprotein, liver function parameters; with more potent effect for the combined therapy. In conclusion, administration of Nigella sativa and/or Zingiber officinale ethanolic extracts to HCV patients exhibited potential therapeutic benefits via decreasing viral load and alleviating the altered liver function, with more potent effect offered by the mixture.

Keywords: Hepatitis C; Nigella sativa; Zingiber officinale; viral load.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Table 1
Table 1. Albumin, total bilirubin, PT, PC and INR in healthy, HCV and HCV treated patients
Figure 1
Figure 1. Viral load in control and treated patients. Data are expressed as mean ± SE, means which share the same superscript symbol(s) are not significantly different, P<0.001.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Serum AFP in healthy, HCV control and treated patients. Data are expressed as mean ± SE, means which share the same superscript symbol(s) are not significantly different, P<0.001.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Serum liver enzymes of healthy, HCV control and HCV treated patients; (a) ALT, (b) AST, (c) γGT, (d) LDH and (e) ALP. Data are expressed as mean ± SE, means which share the same superscript symbol(s) are not significantly different, P<0.001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ajayi OB, Akomolafe SF, Akinyemi FT. Food value of two varieties of Ginger (Zingiber officinale) commonly consumed in Nigeria. ISRN Nutr. 2013;2013:359727. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Al-Gaby AM. Amino acid composition and biological effects of supplementing broad bean and corn proteins with Nigella sativa (black cumin) cake protein. Nahrung. 1998;42:290–294. - PubMed
    1. Ali BH, Blunden G. Pharmacological and toxicological properties of Nigella sativa. Phytother Res. 2003;17:299–305. - PubMed
    1. Ali BH, Blunden G, Tanira MO, Nemmar A. Some phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological properties of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe): a review of recent research. Food Chem Toxicol. 2008;46:409–20. - PubMed
    1. Al-Naggar TB, Gómez-Serranillos MP, Carretero ME, Villar AM. Neuropharmacological activity of Nigella sativa L. extracts. J Ethnopharmacol. 2003;88:63–68. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources