In recent years, several researchers have sought to understand how certain foods can help control cholesterol and reduce the accumulation of fat in the body. Among the candidates is black cumin, a small aromatic seed whose uses go far beyond curries and Middle Eastern cuisine and which recently came under the radar of the scientific community thanks to new data from Japan.
Nicknamed the “black gold” of the kitchen, black cumin, from the Nigella sativa plant, went from a simple spice used in curries and Middle Eastern dishes to a candidate for functional food. According to the Spanish economic newspaper El Economista, which reported on this work, a clinical trial at the Metropolitan University of Osaka, in Japan, associated the daily consumption of these seeds with improvements in cholesterol and fat levels in the blood, as well as a possible effect on the prevention of obesity.
A spice with a long history in traditional medicine
Long before reaching laboratory benches, black cumin was already used in traditional medicine in several regions as a home remedy. According to the Japanese team cited by El Economista, this seed is known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, characteristics that help explain the growing interest of the scientific community in studying it in greater detail. The novelty is to start quantifying these effects in controlled trials with human participants.
What did Japanese investigators do?
The investigation was led by Associate Professor Akiko Kojima-Yuasa of the Graduate School of Human Life and Ecology at Osaka Metropolitan University. According to the study description, the team combined experiments on cells with a clinical trial on humans, to observe both the direct impact on the organism and the mechanisms involved.
In the clinical trial, participants consumed 5 grams of black cumin seed powder daily, the approximate equivalent of a tablespoon, for eight consecutive weeks. At the end of this period, several indicators related to blood fat and cardiovascular risk were analyzed.
“Bad” cholesterol falling, “good” cholesterol rising
According to the results presented, participants who took black cumin recorded a significant reduction in triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, known as “bad”, and total cholesterol in circulation. Conversely, there was an increase in HDL cholesterol levels, the fraction considered “good”, associated with a protective effect on the cardiovascular system.
Improvements of this type in the lipid profile are, in general, associated with a lower risk of heart problems and premature death. However, he emphasizes that this is a short-term study, meaning that larger-scale work and prolonged follow-up are needed to confirm the scope of these benefits.
Less formation of fat in cells
To understand what happens “inside”, the group also carried out experiments in a cellular environment. In these experiments, black cumin seed extract showed the ability to inhibit adipogenesis, that is, the process of formation and maturation of fat cells. The researchers describe that there was a block both in the accumulation of fat droplets inside the cells and in the fat cell differentiation process itself.
According to the same team, this behavior helps to explain why black cumin can have an impact on weight management and obesity prevention, going beyond the simple effect on blood cholesterol.
Functional food with potential, but still under study
Professor Kojima-Yuasa considers that the data obtained “strongly suggest” the usefulness of black cumin seeds as a functional food in the prevention of obesity and diseases associated with lifestyle, such as some cardiovascular pathologies. The researcher also highlights that it was possible to demonstrate, in a trial with human participants, concrete lipid-lowering effects, that is, a measurable reduction in blood fat.
The next steps outlined by the team involve larger and longer clinical trials, to better assess the impact of black cumin on metabolism. In particular, researchers are interested in understanding how this “black gold” from the kitchen can influence insulin resistance in diabetes and various inflammatory markers, two central elements in many chronic diseases.
In an area where exaggerated promises often arise, the Japanese study does not transform black cumin into an isolated solution, but adds data to a line of research that tries to understand how certain foods can, in a complementary way, help protect the heart and reduce the impact of increasingly sedentary lifestyles.
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