AUTHOR=Niu Yun , Wang Baoguang , Zhou Li , Ma Changyang , Waterhouse Geoffrey I. N. , Liu Zhenhua , Ahmed Adel F. , Sun-Waterhouse Dongxiao , Kang Wenyi 

TITLE=Nigella sativa: A Dietary Supplement as an Immune-Modulator on the Basis of Bioactive Components

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2021.722813

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2021.722813

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=<p>Nutrients can be considered as functional foods, which exert physiological benefits on immune system. The seeds of <italic>Nigella sativa</italic>, which have many active constituents, are mainly used for medicine, food spice, and nutritional supplements in Egypt. Much attention has been paid to <italic>N. sativa</italic> seeds for their anticancer, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and immune properties. However, their active constituents and mechanisms underlying functions from <italic>N. sativa</italic> seeds is unclear. Thus, the bioactive constituents with immune regulation in <italic>N. sativa</italic> seeds were systematically studied. A new compound (3-methoxythymol-6-<italic>O</italic>-β-D-apiofuranosyl-(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranoside <bold>1</bold>) and 11 known compounds (<bold>2–12</bold>) were separated from the <italic>N. sativa</italic> seeds by chromatographic methods. Their structures were then elucidated by spectroscopic analysis of MS, UV, IR, <sup>1</sup>H-, and <sup>13</sup>C-NMR. Furthermore, immunomodulatory effects of those compounds in RAW 264.7 cells were evaluated by phagocytosis, nitric oxide (NO) and cytokine release, related mRNA transcription, and key proteins expression <italic>in vitro</italic>. Monosaccharide derivatives, Ethyl-α-D-furaarabinose (<bold>5</bold>), and Ethyl-β-D-fructofuranoside (<bold>8</bold>) were shown to played bidirectional regulatory roles in immunity and anti-inflammation through the regulation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathways. The results showed the active compounds and mechanisms of immune regulation in <italic>N. sativa</italic>, thus indicating that <italic>N. sativa</italic> seeds could be used as dietary supplements in immunomodulation.</p>