Mohan ME, Mohan MC, Prabhakaran P, Syam Das S, Krishnakumar IM, Baby Chakrapani PS. Exploring the short-term influence of a proprietary oil extract of black cumin (
Nigella sativa) on non-restorative sleep: a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled actigraphy study.
Front Nutr 2024;
10:1200118. [PMID:
38288065 PMCID:
PMC10822901 DOI:
10.3389/fnut.2023.1200118]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Background
Nigella sativa (black cumin, or black seed) is popularly known as the seed of blessings in the Arab system of medicine. Though not widely recommended for sleep, a unique proprietary black cumin extract (BlaQmax®/ThymoDream™; BCO-5) has been shown to be helpful in the management of stress and sleep issues.
Methods
This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial aimed to investigate the efficacy of BCO-5 on the sleep quality of volunteers characterized with a self-reported non-restorative sleep disorder. Healthy male and female participants (n = 70), aged 18-65 years (BMI 22-28 Kg/m2) were randomized to either placebo or BCO-5 (n = 35/group). Both interventions were supplemented at 200 mg/day for seven days. Actigraphy and a validated restorative sleep questionnaire (RSQ-W) were used to monitor the influence of BCO-5 on sleep.
Results
Compared to placebo, BCO-5 significantly improved sleep quality, as evidenced by both intra-group and inter-group analyses of the actigraphy data. The relative improvements observed were sleep efficiency (7.8%, p < 0.001), total sleep time (19.1%, p < 0.001), sleep onset latency (35.4%; p < 0.001), and wake-after-sleep-onset (22.5%; p < 0.001) compared with placebo. BCO-5 also improved sleep by 75.3% compared to baseline (p < 0.001) and by 68.9% compared to placebo (p < 0.001), when monitored by RSQ-W. BCO-5 was well-tolerated with no reports of side effects or toxicity.
Conclusion
BCO-5 significantly improved non-restorative sleep in seven days, indicating its potential role as a natural sleep aid.
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