Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Black Seed Oil and Asthma



Asthma is thought to be caused by a number of environmental and genetic factors and is heavily influenced by the immune system. New research has shown that the oil of a tiny black seed from Western Asia may be the key to both the prevention and treatment of immune-related Asthma.

The Nigella sativa (black seed) oil contains over 100 known health-promoting properties including a wide range of the most potent antioxidants, B vitamins, 15 amino-acids, essential fatty acids, and an array of vital organic minerals. However, researchers believe that it is a substance called ‘nigellone’ that may be the real hero as it protects sufferers from histamine-induced bronchial spasms and significantly relieves the symptoms of asthma, bronchitis, and general coughing.



Twenty-nine asthmatic adults were randomly divided into a control group (14 patients) and treatment group (15 patients), and monitored for 3 months.Asthma symptom score, asthma severity, frequency of symptoms/week and wheezing were recorded on the first visit, then again after 45 days and finally, at the end of the study. Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) were also measured, and the drug regimen of the patients was evaluated at three different visits.

The researchers found that all asthma symptoms, frequency of asthma symptoms/week, chest wheezing, and PFT values in the treatment group significantly improved in the second and third visits compared with the first visit. In addition, further improvement of chest wheezing and severity of disease on the third visit were observed compared with the second visit in this group. Most significantly, by the the third visit (90 days) all symptoms in the treatment group were significantly different from those of the control group.

In addition, the researchers observed that the usage of inhaler and oral ß-agonists, oral corticosteroid, oral theophylline and even inhaler corticosteroid by those patients in the treatment group decreased by the end of the study while there were no obvious changes in usage of the drugs in control patients.

The researchers concluded that the results of the study indicate that Nigella Sativa Oil both alleviates and prevents asthma symptoms and warrant further research. For more information on Nigella Sativa visit: www.nigella-sativa-research.com

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