title: A review of the effects of Nigella sativa L. and its constituent, thymoquinone, in metabolic syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Metabolic syndrome is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) occurrence and mortality. CVDs are leading cause of death worldwide. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in the use of herbal medicines with more efficiency and minimal undesirable effects than chemical drugs for a variety of disorders including CVD. Nigella sativa and its active constituent, thymoquinone, have been documented to exhibit antidiabetic, antiobesity, hypotensive and hypolipidemic properties.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  In this review, we discussed the most relevant articles to find out the role of N. sativa in different components of metabolic syndrome and CVD risk factors including high blood pressure, obesity, dyslipidemia and high blood glucose.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This review suggests a potential role of N. sativa and TQ in the management of metabolic syndrome, however more studies should be conducted to evaluate their effectiveness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacodynamy and Toxicology, Targeted Drug Delivery Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Razavi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hosseinzadeh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016227:Benzoquinones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D031881:Nigella sativa; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D016227:Benzoquinones; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; C003466:thymoquinone