Friday Hope: Black Seed Oil: Inhibiting Spike Binding, Inflammatory and Coagulation Responses and Enhancing p53 Expression
Thymoquinone (TQ), the major component of Black Seed Oil, may be a useful adjunct therapy in preventing/treating the damaging effects of the Spike Protein.
Thymoquinone may prevent SARS- CoV- 2 virus receptor interaction by inhibition of the attachment of the viral spike glycoprotein to the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor and the priming of SARS- CoV- 2 virus through TMPRSS2 (transmembrane protease serine 2).
It is now coming to the attention of doctors worldwide that levels of the tumor suppressor p53 are declining alarmingly. Here is just one example:
Unfortunately, readers of this Substack know that this has been expected due to the previously discussed interaction of the Spike Protein with p53 and other tumor suppressors. I have written in a previous Friday Hope about some natural therapeutics which can enhance p53 expression. Today I would like to discuss one additional natural therapeutic which not only enhances p53 expression but also prevents Spike binding and ameliorates the inflammatory/coagulation responses it induces.
Black Seed Oil, or Black Cumin Oil, has a long and highly regarded history of being an important, multi-functional nutraceutical.
One spicy, medicinal herb is Nigella sativa L. (Ranunculaceae), also called black cumin or black seeds, which is famous for its culinary uses, and is historically precious in traditional medicine. Black cumin is native to a vast region of the eastern Mediterranean, northern Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and Southwest Asia, and is cultivated in many countries, including Egypt, Iran, Greece, Syria, Albania, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, India, and Pakistan. Being a panacea, black cumin, in the form of essential oil, paste, powder, and extract, has been indicated in traditional medicine for many diseases/conditions, such as asthma, bronchitis, rheumatism, headache, back pain, anorexia, amenorrhea, paralysis, inflammation, mental debility, eczema, and hypertension, to name a few [4]. These traditional uses of N. sativa seeds are largely attributed to their wide array of medicinal properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anticancer, neuroprotective, antimicrobial, antihypertensive, cardioprotective, antidiabetic, gastroprotective, and nephroprotective and hepatoprotective properties [5]. Black cumin seed, particularly its essential oil, contains thymoquinone (TQ), thymohydroquinone, thymol, carvacrol, nigellidine, nigellicine, and α-hederin, which are mostly responsible for its pharmacological effects and therapeutic benefits [6]. The food value of black cumin, although less focused on in scientific literature, is by no means low, because it contains an adequate quantity of protein and fat, and an appreciable amount of essential fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals [7]. Both active phytochemicals and the vital nutrients of black cumin contribute equally to the immunity and well-being of the human body, making this culinary herb a valuable source of nutraceuticals.
Black Cumin (Nigella sativa L.): A Comprehensive Review on Phytochemistry, Health Benefits, Molecular Pharmacology, and Safety
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8225153/
There are additional benefits to Black Seed Oil which are specifically related to SARS-CoV-2 and its Spike Protein. Black Seed Oil and its major component, Thymoquinone (TQ), is a promising therapeutic for COVID and Spike Protein injury/disease. Three of these benefits are very important: preventing the Spike from binding to our cells and quelling the inflammatory and coagulation responses that the Spike and the virus itself induces.
Compounds derived from N. sativa oil, in particular TQ, may be effective in inhibiting the ability of SARS- CoV- 2 to attach to host cell receptors and replicate within the cell.
Covid 19 is also associated with an aggressive inflammatory and hyperactive host immune response to the SARS- C0V- 2 virus which is commonly referred to as a ‘cytokine storm’.52 Proinflammatory cytokines/chemokines, including multiple interleukins and TNF- α, are elevated in Covid19 patients and contribute to worse patient outcomes.52 Nigella sativa and TQ may be potentially beneficial in downregulating this inflammatory process and thereby reducing the severity of acute respiratory distress syndrome.51,52 Nigella sativa and TQ also possess anticoagulant properties that may offer both as potential therapeutic natural products targeting the coagulopathy associated with life- threatening SARS- CoV- 2 (Covid 19) infection.
The role of thymoquinone, a major constituent of Nigella sativa, in the treatment of inflammatory and infectious diseases
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1440-1681.13553
Furthermore, there is yet another property that TQ possesses, which may prove to be very beneficial for those exposed to the Spike Protein. Thymoquinone has the ability to enhance expression of the tumor suppressor p53, which the Spike Protein downregulates. It also inhibits the growth of colon cancer cells.
We investigated the effects of thymoquinone (TQ) against HCT-116 human colon cancer cells and attempted to identify its potential molecular mechanisms of action. We report that TQ inhibits the growth of colon cancer cells which was correlated with G1 phase arrest of the cell cycle. Furthermore, TUNEL staining and flow cytometry analysis indicate that TQ triggers apoptosis in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Apoptosis induction by TQ was associated with a 2.5-4.5-fold increase in mRNA expression of p53 and the downstream p53 target gene, p21WAF1. Simultaneously, we found a marked increase in p53 and p21WAF1 protein levels but a significant inhibition of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein. Co-incubation with pifithrin-alpha (PFT-alpha), a specific inhibitor of p53, restored Bcl-2, p53 and p21WAF1 levels to the untreated control and suppressed TQ-induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. p53-null HCT-116 cells were less sensitive to TQ-induced growth arrest and apoptosis. These results indicate that TQ is antineoplastic and pro-apoptotic against colon cancer cell line HCT116. The apoptotic effects of TQ are modulated by Bcl-2 protein and are linked to and dependent on p53. Our data support the potential for using the agent TQ for the treatment of colon cancer.
Thymoquinone extracted from black seed triggers apoptotic cell death in human colorectal cancer cells via a p53-dependent mechanism
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15375533/
I am quite enthusiastic about Black Seed Oil. It, along with other major players we have discussed, may become part of a regimen that can keep the Spike Protein at bay. If we do all we can to prevent the Spike from entering our cells and limiting/reversing the damage it has caused, we may be able to prevent it from seriously reducing the quality – and length – of our lives. Of course, this is a work of medical research and not medical advice. As always, consult your Primary Care Provider before using any supplement or medication.
Thank you, as always, for your readership, dialogue and support. We added a new Founding Member level paid subscriber this week, and I received a generous donation in the mail. I am humbled and grateful. I will continue working to further our understanding and increase our ability to heal. Please have a blessed Spring weekend!
Yes to Black Seed in covid, from personal experience. However, i would not credit the TQ so much. When I had COVID (delta) Mar. 8-June 15 2020 I relied upon black seed (eating the seed itself every day) as well as the Bach Flower Essence Holly. My basic symptom for the whole time was an irritated throat. Nigella always kept it in check. Finally, after two and half months I had a sore throat as well (swollen glands) from a secondary bacterial infection. I learned from this the difference between an "irritated throat" (which is vagal or ANS in origin) and a "sore throat" which is glandular. My second and only other symptom was a clenching of the heart or aorta or possibly the artery that serves the thymus, causing a spasm of the chest followed by a tremendous opening of the blood of the chest, like a gasp. This happened about 10-15 times at night during those 3 months. I took the Holly for that (see why below). I also took white pine in the last two weeks; the remedy was making the rounds in the Native American community.
I am very skeptical about limiting the medicinal effects of nigella to the thymoquinone. I think that is a big mistake. There are over twenty five distinctive medicinal substances in black seed and we cannot ignore the others. One thing I learned from my experience is that nigella is a vagal or ANS remedy, which is very, very important and totally overlooked in the medical literature--even in herbalism, of which I am a practitioner and greek/arabic medicine. That means it relaxes the nervous system, which in itself would cure a lot of stuff. I am not sure which ingredients give it this property but herbalists often judge the character of an herb from its taste and nigella is distinctly acrid---that's the flavor that relaxes the nervous system, central or autonomic, from antispastics like crampbark and black cohosh to hallucinogens like peyote, ayahuasca and psilocybin. Like these hallucinogens, COVID 19 delta definitely caused a high level of DMT in the brain, which manifested for me as lucid dreaming. I had a drug-like withdrawal from the DMT as the virus left me in June.
Holly is the Bach flower remedy for irrational hatred directed towards oneself or from oneself. I felt that if the virus was a person it "hated" me because it attacked my back brain and my heart within five days. I had already learned about this use because the Lyme co-infection Bartonella causes the same thing---basically, an inflammation of the back brain. Another friend discovered Holly for the effects of COVID as well. . . . I had been tipped off that hatred was an issue because on Jan. 1, 2020 (actually the same day in China that Covid 19 was "discovered" or "named") I had a dream that "the only thing necessary to make it through the tests ahead was to have an open heart."
A happy spring to you…twas a long time coming in our part pf the world! Grateful for your hopeful work, Walter. I’m thinking when sourcing black seed oil it’s important to get the cold-pressed to avoid potential seed-oil perils?