Protective effect of black seed oil from Nigella sativa against murine cytomegalovirus infection

Mohamed Labib Salem a, 1, , and Mohammad Sohrab Hossainb
a Department of Immunology, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan

b Center for AIDS Research, Division of Virology, Kumamoto University, Kohonji, Japan
Received 19 November 1999;accepted 20 April 2000.Available online 6 July 2000.


Abstract

In this study, antiviral effect of black seed oil (BSO) from Nigella sativa was investigated using murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) as a model. The viral load and innate immunity mediated by NK cells and Mφ during early stage of the infection were analyzed. Intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of BSO to BALB/c mice, a susceptible strain of MCMV infection, strikingly inhibited the virus titers in spleen and liver on day 3 of infection with 1×105 PFU MCMV. This effect coincided with an increase in serum level of IFN-γ. Although BSO treatment decreased both number and cytolytic function of NK cells on day 3 of infection, it increased numbers of Mφ and CD4+ T cells. On day 10 of infection, the virus titer was undetectable in spleen and liver of BSO-treated mice, while it was detectable in control mice. Although spleen of both control and BSO-treated mice showed similar CTL activities on day 10 after infection, serum level of IFN-γ in BSO-treated mice was higher. Furthermore, BSO treatment upregulated suppressor function of Mφ in spleen. These results show that BSO exhibited a striking antiviral effect against MCMV infection which may be mediated by increasing of Mφ number and function, and IFN-γ production.



Author Keywords: Black seed oil; Nigella sativa; Cytomegalovirus; NK cells; Macrophages; Cytotoxic T lymphocytes; IFN-γ

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