Nigella Sativa — Natural Remedy for HIV Already Found?

HIV is quite an interesting topic. According to Dolores Cannon material it’s a man-made virus.

It has killed millions and millions of people, and today, as efficient medications are available, it is a HUGE market for pharmaceutical industry: As per a published report by Fortune Business Insights™, titled, “HIV Drugs Market, 2021-2028,” the market stood at USD 28.79 billion in 2020.

Is there a natural remedy for HIV? There might be. But it will be very difficult for us to know as long as the virus is that big source of an income to pharmaceutical industry. Would they allow some herb just come and take their money.

But let’s see what do we know until now.

Is there a natural remedy for HIV?

Nigella Sativa or Black seed (mustakumina, ryytineito) has empirically been used as herbal medicine to remedy various diseases. Its component called Timokuinon (thymoquinone) is presumed to be antioxidant, chemopreventive and immunomodulator.

The plant has been widely used as antihypertensive, liver tonic, diuretic, digestive, anti-diarrheal, appetite stimulant, analgesic, anti-bacterial, and in skin disorders, according to a study published in Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine titled "A review on therapeutic potential of Nigella sativa: A miracle herb."

N. sativa has risen to the top of the list of evidence-based herbal medications due to its amazing healing capacity.

Nigella sativa, sometimes known as black seed, is a member of the Ranunculaceae family of plants. It's a popular medical herb all around the world. It is widely used in traditional medical systems such as Unani and Tibb, Ayurveda, and Siddha. Seeds and oil have a long history of folkloric use in many medicinal and culinary systems. It is regarded as one of the most powerful types of healing medicine in Islamic literature. It is suggested that you use it on a regular basis at Tibb-e-Nabawi (Prophetic Medicine).

According to a recent study, Nigella sativa Lor hexane extract has the potential to be developed as a chemopreventive anticarcinogenic drug with antioxidant, cytoprotective, and immunomodulatory properties. The hexane extract's action can enhance CD4 lymphocytes. CD4 is a glycoprotein that serves as a co-receptor for the T-cell receptor (TCR).

CD4 is found on the surface of immune cells such as T helper cells, monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells. A CD4 count is used to check the health of the immune system in people infected with HIV.

"The efficacy of cumin (N. Sativa) in raising CD4 and CD8 cells, which influences the CD4CD25 Treg cell population, provides hope to HIV patients on antiretroviral therapy," stated Universitas Ahmad Dahlan, a pharmacy lecturer.

Meanwhile, the inability of traditional medication to cure HIV infection has prompted many people living with the virus to seek alternative treatment, according to the UI/UCH researchers.

Treatment with Nigella sativa

1. YB (25/Os), a 46-year-old artisan (panel beater), was recruited into the prospective (doctoral) research study via the herbalist and reported with 3 months of fever, diarrhoea, weight loss, and malaise. He exhibited a number of common pruritic skin lesions as well as weight loss, as demonstrated by a significant zygomatic process and HIV seropositivity (ELISA and confirmed by Western blot). The CD4 count and viral (HIV-RNA) load were 250 cells/mm3 and 27, 000 copies/ml, respectively, before therapy.

From August 2009 to August 2010, a herbal therapist began therapy by distributing 10 ml of Nigella sativa mixture three times daily for four months. To ensure the efficiency of the herbal combination, he was evaluated daily and visited on a regular basis. However, due to the patient's work schedule (he worked from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily), he could only take the prescription twice a day, which lasted over 6 months (January 2010).

On the 5th and 7th days, the fever, malaise, and diarrhea all went away. On the 20th day, the multiple papular pruritic lesions vanished.

Despite quick clinical recovery and a large viral (HIV-RNA) load (1000 copies/ml), the first monthly CD4 count was dramatically lowered (160 cells/mm3). Surprisingly, the CD4 count began to rise after the second month, and the viral load was undetectable. At the completion of treatment, the CD4 count and viral (HIV-RNA) count were 650 cells/mm3 and undetectable (50 copies/ml), respectively. On the 187th day of herbal concoction therapy, HIV screening (EIA) and Western blot were both negative.

The patient was followed up on on a regular basis for HIV testing, confirmation (Western blot), CD4 count, and viral (HIV-RNA) testing, all of which revealed sero-negativity and undetectable viral load with a normal CD4 count (750 cells/ mm3). Before, during, or after the Nigella sativa concoction therapy, the patient was not on HAART .

(Abdulfatah Adekunle Onifade, Andrew Paul Jewell, Waheed Adeola Adedejj (2013))

2. A study determined the effectiveness (clinical and laboratory responses) of α-Zam (defined by the herbal therapist as Nigella sativa and honey), which is used by patients seeking herbal remedies for HIV infection in Nigeria. All six patients were infected by HIV, as confirmed by Western blot analysis in the nearest teaching hospital, i.e. LAUTECH teaching hospital or Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, before commencing preliminary clinical and laboratory examinations using World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria.

The symptoms and signs associated with HIV infection disappeared within 20 days of commencement of herbal therapy with significant difference (p < 0.05) before treatment and at periodic intervals on α-Zam therapy. Body weight increased from an average of 53 ± 2 kg to 63 ± 2 kg, viral load (HIV-RNA) decreased from 42,300 ± 1500 copies/ml to an undetectable level (≤50 copies/ml), and CD4+ count increased from an average of 227 ± 9 to 680 ± 12 mm3/μL at 4 months post-therapy.

This study concluded that the herbal remedy (α-Zam) is effective in the treatment of HIV infection based on a significant improvement in both the clinical features and laboratory results of HIV infection.

(Onifade AA, Jewell AP, Okesina AB, Ajadi TA, Rahamon SK, Muhibi MO (2013))

These small studies are not reported as well as they could have been and they have not gained

public’s attention.

But they definitely open a path: What if.

What if?

What if?

Possible side effects of Nigella Sativa

● Tests on animals indicate that high doses of Nigella sativa may damage the kidney and/or liver. Use may be considered carefully in individuals with existing kidney or liver problems or risks.

● Taking Nigella sativa during chemotherapy may hamper the effects of chemotherapy drugs

● Because Nigella sativa may further reduce blood pressure, it poses risk for those with hypotension

● Although studies analyzing any effect Nigella sativa might have on pregnancy and breastfeeding have focused on animals, women are advised to talk to their healthcare provider before consumption. (Cathy Wong (2015))