Coadministration of black seeds and turmeric shows enhanced efficacy in preventing metabolic syndrome in fructose-fed rats

Among noncommunicable diseases, metabolic syndrome (MS), a cluster of metabolic disorders including obesity, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia and hypertension, is highly prevalent in modern society. Its management requires lifestyle modifications and/or the life-long use of multiple medications, hence demanding development of safe alternative remedies. This study was aimed to establish the efficacy of combined use of black seeds and turmeric using fructose-fed rat model of MS. The high-performance liquid chromatographic fingerprints of turmeric and black seeds showed the presence of curcumin and thymoquinone, respectively, as their major constitutes. Different doses of black seeds and turmeric, individually and in combination, were administered to fructose-fed rats for up to 6 weeks representing characteristic features of MS. At 3 weeks of the treatment, black seeds and turmeric lowered (P < 0.01) high blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, respectively, whereas their coadministration reduced (P < 0.01) both high blood pressure and hypertriglyceridemia. At 6 weeks, the coadministration of both herbs, at half the doses of individual herbs, was the most effective (P < 0.001) in preventing hypertension, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, hyperinsulinemia, and endothelial dysfunction than the individual herbs. This study demonstrates the therapeutic superiority of the combination of black seeds and turmeric at low doses over individually tested herbs, in improving features of MS.