Nigella sativa improves glucose homeostasis and serum lipids in type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Pooled effect of Nigella sativa on type 2 diabetes outcomes. FBS, fasting blood sugar; TC, total cholesterol; LDL-c, ldl-cholesterol; HbA1c, glycosylated hemoglobin; HDL-c, hdl-cholesterol; TG, triglyceride. Note: green and red colors demonstrate significant and insignificant effects of Nigella sativa, respectively. [Display omitted] •This meta-analysis reveals that Nigella sativa is beneficial in type 2 diabetes.•Nigella sativa improves fasting blood sugar, glycosylated hemoglobin, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol in patients with type 2 diabetes, comparable to regular medication therapies.•Nigella sativa is introduced as potent adjunct therapy in type 2 diabetes. Global prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is very high and is currently growing alarmingly. With respect to recent researchers' attention to the potential role of herbal medicine in disease prevention and management, the present meta-analysis review investigates the effectiveness of Nigella sativa (N. sativa), a popular herb, in T2D. Literature search was conducted covering PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and Cochrane Registry of Clinical Trials up to February 2017 to obtain the relevant published intervention studies. Study selection, quality rating and data extraction of studies were investigated by two independent reviewers. Heterogeneity was assessed using I-squared (I2) statistics test. Subgroup analysis was done to assess type of N. sativa supplement as source of heterogeneity. Effect sizes of eligible studies were pooled using STATA software version 12 (STATA corp, College Station, TX, USA). Seven trials were included in the meta-analysis of glycemic and serum lipid profile end points. Supplementation with N. sativa significantly improved fasting blood sugar (FBS) [−17.84mg/dl, 95% CI: −21.19 to −14.49, p