Antiatherogenic potential of nigella sativa seeds and oil in diet-induced hypercholesterolemia in rabbits

Abstract

Nigella sativa or Black seed (N. sativa L.) is traditionally used for several ailments in many Middle Eastern countries. It is an annual herbaceous plant that belongs to the Ranuculacea family with many beneficial properties as antitumor, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, antioxidative and antibacterial. This work attempted to study the effect of N. sativa seeds powder and oil on atherosclerosis in diet-induced hypercholesterolemic (HC) rabbits in comparison with simvastatin (ST). Twenty-five adult New Zealand male white rabbits, weighing 1.5-2.5kg, were divided into five groups; normal group (NC, n=5) and four hypercholesterolemic groups (n=20): a positive control (PC) and three HC groups force fed diet supplemented with 1000mg Kg -1 body weight of N. sativa powder (NSP), 500mg Kg -1 body N. sativa oil (NSO) and 10mg Kg -1 ST for 8,weeks. Feeding HC rabbits with N. sativa either in powder or oil forms was shown to significantly reduce (P