Nigella sativa and its Derivatives as Food Toxicity Protectant Agents

Abstract

Exposure to food toxins generate multiple adverse health effects. Heavy metals, antibioticsresidue, mycotoxins, pesticides and some food additives are examples of the most importantfood toxins. The common mechanism of toxicity and carcinogenicity effects of food toxins is thegeneration of oxidative stress that leads to DNA damages. Moreover, based on epidemiologicevidence unhealthy eating habits and food toxicities are associated with cancers occurrence.Therefore, application of bioactive food additives as harmless or safe components in foodindustry is expensive. Nigella sativa L. is a broadly used herb-drug for various diseases all overthe world and has been used as preservative and food additive. Based on various studies N. sativahas shown various pharmacological activities including therapeutic efficacy against differenthuman diseases and antioxidant anti-inflammatory effects against environmental toxins. N.sativa decreases the adverse health effects induced by mentioned food toxins via modulating theaction of antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione-S-transferasecatalase and act as reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers in different organs. Besides, N.sativa and thymoquinone (TQ) have protective effects on food products through removal andinhibition of various toxic compounds. Therefore, in the present review we will describe allprotective effects of N. sativa and its main constituents, TQ, against food induced toxicities.