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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1417013
This article is part of the Research Topic Natural Products for the Treatment of Respiratory Disorders View all 4 articles

Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials Assessing the Efficacy of Nigella Sativa Supplementation for Allergic Rhinitis Treatment

Provisionally accepted
Xiao Y. He Xiao Y. He 1Yan X. Hu Yan X. Hu 2Shuang Liu Shuang Liu 1Ge l. Lv Ge l. Lv 1Yin L. Chang Yin L. Chang 1Liang Jiang Liang Jiang 1*
  • 1 The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
  • 2 School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Demonstrating the positive effects of Nigella sativa supplementation (Nigella spp) on Allergic Rhinitis (AR) treatment is challenging. To investigate the role of Nigella spp in managing AR, a comprehensive review through systematic reviews and meta-analyses was conducted. Purpose: To carry out a meta-analysis of clinical trials that used Nigella spp in treating AR based on current data. Study Design: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was performed. Methods: Various databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Science Direct, Springer Link and the Cochrane Library, were searched until October 2023 to obtain RCTs assessing impact of Nigella spp in the control of AR. The current meta-analysis was carried out with a random-effects model. Results: There were 8 studies enrolled, and our meta-analysis findings revealed that, relative to the control group, observation group exhibited the markedly increased total effective rate for allergic rhinitis treatment (odds ratio [OR] = 4.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] (2.57, 7.27), and P < 0.00001); three studies showed that the effect of Nigella spp for nasal symptoms treatment among patients with allergic rhinitis was superior in observation group to control group [mean difference = -2.60, 95% CI ( -2.82, -2.38), P < 0.00001]; adverse effects occurred in five studies, all of which were transient, did not require medical intervention, and were not statistically significant between the two groups [OR = 1.01, 95% CI (0.59, 1.73), P = 0.98]. Conclusion: The observation group demonstrated relative safety and had an enhanced effect on allergic rhinitis treatment and total nasal symptom improvement than the control group. The inclusion of fewer studies and the lower quality of trial design might affect the stability of the results. However, the evidence-based findings that Nigella spp for allergic rhinitis treatment is more accurate should be validated in future large-scale, multicenter, and well-designed RCTs.

    Keywords: Nigella sativa, allergic rhinitis, Randomized controlled trial AR，allergic rhinitis； RCT，Randomized controlled tria； OR，Odds ratio； CI, confidenceinterval; Nigella spp, Nigella sativa supplementation;

    Received: 13 Apr 2024; Accepted: 02 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 He, Hu, Liu, Lv, Chang and Jiang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Liang Jiang, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.