Antioxidant Effects of Nigella sativa and Its Modulating Role on Hepatotoxicity Induced by Dietary Frying Oil in Rats

Abstract

Repeated use of frying oil threatens more than everhuman beings and this is due to the increased consumption of fried and fast foods. This study aimed to investigate the antioxidant effects of Nigella sativa against frying oil-induced hepatic and oxidative alterations. Forty male rats were divided into four groups and treated for thirty consecutive days with frying oil and/or nigella. EO-0 group: rats were served as controls and received a normal diet. EO-N group: rats were fed with an experimental diet containing 2% nigella. FO-0 group: rats were nourished on a diet containing 7% frying oil. FO-N group: rats were given a combination diet containing 7% frying oil and 2% nigella. The physicochemical analyzes indicate that frying oil contains very high concentrations of toxic substances compared to edible oil. The consumption of frying oil causes a significant increase in hepatic biomarkers and intensifies the oxidative stress status compared to the control group. Moreover, the hepatic histological sections of rats fed with frying oil showed a disrupted architecture. The combination of nigella with frying oils in a rat-diet revealed an intense reduction in oxidative stress and ameliorated the levels of the majority of the previous parameters. Nigella-supplementation confirmed their potential antioxidant activities. Therefore, nigella-administration seems to be the excellent spice recommended in high temperature food frying in order to maintain human health.