Prospects for the Use of Thymoquinone (a Component of Nigella sativa) in the Prevention and Therapy of Neuropathologies

Black cumin and its component thymoquinone (TQ) are known as drugs with a wide range of pharmacological activities: immunomodulating, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiviral, and antineoplastic. These drugs also have neuroprotective properties in neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s), ischemia, epilepsy, encephalomyelitis, and traumatic brain injury. The main mechanisms of action are antioxidant activity and increased expression of neuroprotective genes and proteins with decreased activity of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the NF-kB pathway, which plays a key role in neuroinflammation. A separate section is devoted to the effects of black cumin and TQ on the course of depression, a common and socially significant disease. Reduced signs of depression and increased levels of a neuroprotective factor belonging to the neutrophin family (BDNF), a characteristic marker of depression, were described in 54 depressed patients. The review discusses the prospects for prevention and therapy with these drugs in central nervous system pathology.