ACETYLCHOLINESTERASE AND GROWTH INHIBITORY EFFECTS – VARIOUS GRADES OF N. SATIVA OILS

Neuroprotection is utmost necessary due to the devastating neuronal injuries, including neurodegenerative disorders. N. sativa L. is called the Miracle herb due to its wide usage in traditional systems of medicine, especially Arabic. This plant has been studied for its therapeutic potential and found to possess a wide spectrum of activities, including anticancer and antioxidant properties. The present work is designed to investigate the acetylcholinesterase inhibitory and cytotoxic potential of various grades of black cumin oil for its neuroprotective activity. Thymoquinone is the most pharmacologically active ingredient found in black cumin oil. The various grades of black cumin containing 5%, 2% and 0.6% thymoquinone at different dose levels is used throughout this work. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitory is performed by using Ellman’s method, and the cytotoxic potential is evaluated by using Sulforhodamine B assay employing IMR-32, U373-MG, and SK-N-SH cell lines. Black cumin oil containing 5% thymoquinone showed a dose-dependent increase in the acetylcholinesterase inhibition (64.47% inhibition at the dose of 20 µg/ml) which is similar to that of the standard acetylcholinesterase inhibitor donepezil (65.03% inhibition at the dose of 10 µg/ml). The cytotoxic potential evaluated by SRB assay indicated the black cumin oil containing 5% thymoquinone exhibiting the comparable growth inhibition with that of Adriamycin. Whereas, other grades of black cumin oil showed limited or no activity. It is concluded that N. sativa oil exhibits a neuroprotective activity in both the assays in a dose-dependent manner which indicates the variable effects of the concentration of thymoquinone present in the black cumin oil.