Protective effect of black seed oil from Nigella sativa against murine cytomegalovirus infection

In this study, antiviral effect of black seed oil (BSO) from Nigella sativa was investigated using murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) as a model. The viral load and innate immunity mediated by NK cells and M phi during early stage of the infection were analyzed. Intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of B SO to BALB/c mice, a susceptible strain of MCMV infection, strikingly inhib ited the virus titers in spleen and liver on day 3 of infection with 1 x 10 (5) PFU MCMV. This effect coincided with an increase in serum level of IFN- gamma. Although BSO treatment decreased both number and cytolytic function of NK cells on day 3 of infection, it increased numbers of M phi and CD4(+) T cells. On day 10 of infection, the virus titer was undetectable in splee n and liver of BSO-treated mice, while it was detectable in control mice. A lthough spleen of both control and BSO-treated mice showed similar CTL acti vities on day 10 after infection, serum level of IFN-gamma in BSO-treated m ice was higher. Furthermore, BSO treatment upregulated suppressor function of M phi in spleen. These results show that BSO exhibited a striking antivi ral effect against MCMV infection which may be mediated by increasing of M phi number and function, and IFN-gamma production. (C) 2000 International S ociety for Immunopharmacology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All right s reserved.