Nigella Sativa (Black Seeds), A Potential Herb for the Pharmacotherapeu- tic Management of Hypertension - A Review

Hypertension is one of the leading risk factors for stroke, myocardial infarction and untimely death. The prevalence of hypertension is extremely high among the global population, and many of them depend on modern medicines to manage their blood pressure. The modern antihypertensive medications include angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs), angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), calcium channel blockers (CCBs), diuretics, beta-adrenergic blockers, direct renin inhibitors, direct-acting vasodilators, alpha-adrenergic blockers and centrally acting drugs that are associated with many harmful and undesirable effects. The patients may consider traditional herbal medicines as a good strategy to manage chronic conditions due to the reasons such as perceived failure of allopathic medicines, relatively high cost of allopathic medicines, social-cultural practices and/or herbal knowledge, poor access to medical facilities and safety concerns about modern medicines. Nigella sativa (Black seeds) has been used to treat various conditions, including hypertension, obesity, diabetes, cancer, etc. Hence, the antihypertensive potential of N. sativa is analyzed in this review. The literature was searched in databases including Medline/PMC/PubMed, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and reference lists to identify articles associated with antihypertensive properties of N.sativa. Numerous randomized controlled trials and animal studies reported that N.sativa has potential antihypertensive effects. Hence, N. sativa could be used effectively to manage patients with stage 1 hypertension, and the patients using modern antihypertensive medications could reduce their doses by adding N. sativa into their regimen as adjuvant therapy.

Automated summary

Hypertension is a major risk factor for stroke, myocardial infarction, and premature death, leading many patients to rely on modern antihypertensive medications with potential harmful effects. In response, some individuals are turning to traditional herbal medicines like Nigella sativa as adjuvant therapy due to perceived failures of allopathic medicines and safety concerns. Black seeds have shown potential antihypertensive effects in numerous studies, suggesting they could be effectively used to manage stage 1 hypertension and reduce doses of modern antihypertensive medications.