Nigella sativa Oil Offers No Cardiometabolic Benefit for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Use of Nigella sativa oil does not improve cardiometabolic measures among patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), according to a study in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice.

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial assessed the effect of N sativa oil supplementation compared with placebo on serum levels of adiponectin, leptin, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure in patients with NAFLD. The study was conducted from March 2017 to June 2017 at a gastrointestinal clinic in Ahvaz, Iran.

Eligible participants were aged 20 to 60 years and were diagnosed with NAFLD. A total of 44 patients with NAFLD were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control groups (n=22 for each group). The experimental group received 1000 mg/d of N sativa oil soft gels, and the control group received 1000 mg/d of paraffin oil soft gels (1000 mg capsules) for 8 weeks. The mean age of the patients in the experimental group was 39±5.4 years, and the mean age of the control group participants was 42±8.9 years.

N sativa oil supplementation did not significantly affect the serum levels of leptin (P =.07) and adiponectin (P =.13) among participants. In comparison with the control group, no significant effects of supplementation were observed regarding serum levels of leptin (-5.54 vs -3.32 ng/ml, P =.89) or adiponectin (0.63 vs 0.39 μg/mL, P =.40) in the patients who received N sativa oil after 8 weeks.

Compared with the control individuals, no significant effect for N sativa oil supplementation was found regarding systolic blood pressure (-0.21 vs 2.32 mm Hg, P =.13) and diastolic blood pressure (0.5 vs -1.86 mm Hg, P =.09) in the experimental group.

Study limitations included the short intervention duration and small sample size. The researchers were also unable to evaluate participants’ inflammation and oxidative stress status.

“The present study showed that supplementation with 1000 mg/d N sativa oil for 8 weeks has no significant effects on serum levels of adiponectin, leptin, and blood pressure in patients with NAFLD,” the study authors noted. “Our findings suggested larger-scale longitudinal interventions to more profoundly examine the potential mechanisms and effects of different doses of N sativa on leptin, adiponectin, and BP in patients with NAFLD.”

Reference

Rashidmayvan M, Vandyousefi S, Barati M, et al. The effect of nigella sativa supplementation on cardiometabolic outcomes in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver: a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2022;48:101598. doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2022.101598

This article originally appeared on Gastroenterology Advisor