Does Nigella sativa supplementation improve cardiovascular disease risk factors? A comprehensive GRADE-assessed systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of 82 randomized controlled trials

Jafari A, Mardani H, Faghfouri AH, Fashtali ZM, Hashemi M

Published in Pharmacological Research

Methodology

GRADE-assessed systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of 82 RCTs (doses 200-4600 mg/day, 1-48 weeks).

Key Findings

Significant improvements in body fat percentage, BMI, waist circumference, weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, HbA1c, postprandial glucose, CRP and hs-CRP.

Conclusions

Nigella sativa supplementation improves a broad range of cardiometabolic risk factors, though certainty of evidence varies by outcome.

Limitations

High heterogeneity, varied preparations and doses, many small primary trials from a limited number of regions.

Supplements Studied

Black Seed Oil

Oil

N. sativa supplementation significantly improved body fat percentage (BF%), body mass index (BMI), skeletal muscle mass (SMM), waist circumference (WC), weight, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), fasting blood sugar (FBS), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)