ANTIOXIDANT, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY, ANTICANCER AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITIES OF EXTRACTS FROM NIGELLA SATIVA (BLACK CUMIN) PLANT PARTS SOUMAYA BOURGOU, 1,3 ANDRE PICHETTE, 2 BRAHIM MARZOUK 1 and JEAN LEGAULT 2 1 Laboratoire des Substances Bioactives Centre de Biotechnologie à la Technopole de Borj-Cédria (CBBC), BP 901, Hammam-Lif, Tunisia 2 Laboratoire d’Analyse et de Séparation des Essences Végétales, Département des Sciences Fondamentales, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. Chicoutimi, Québec, Canada 3 Corresponding author. TEL: +21671430855; FAX: +21679412638; EMAIL: soumaya_swiss@yahoo.ca Received for Publication November 2, 2010 Accepted for Publication March 9, 2011 doi:10.1111/j.1745-4514.2011.00567.x ABSTRACT Nigella sativa is a one of the most commonly found aromatics in the Mediterranean kitchen. This plant is traditionally used for the treatment of several pathologies. In this study, the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antibacterial activities of the shoots, roots and seeds methanol extracts from N. sativa were studied. The three organs exhibited strong antioxidant activity using the oxygen radical absor- bance capacity method and a cell-based assay. Furthermore, the seeds hexane fraction (SHF) of the methanol extract showed significant anti-inflammatory activity, inhibiting nitric oxide release with an IC50 value of 6.20 mg/mL in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. The SHF was found to be active against A-549 lung carcinoma cells and DLD-1 colon carcinoma, with IC50 values of 31.0 and 63.0 mg/mL, respectively, as well as against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) and Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) bacteria with IC50 values of 38.0 and 80.0 mg/mL, respectively. The shoots methanol extract exhibited moderate anti- inflammatory activity but no anticancer and antibacterial activities. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The results obtained suggest that Nigella sativa plant parts, including the shoots, the roots and the seeds, have the potential to be developed into dietary supplements as food preservative and for the improvement of human nutrition and health. In addi- tion, the seeds could be useful for therapeutical purposes and could be developed as anticancer agent and as foodborne preservative as well as for the treatment of chronic inflammatory pathologies associated with overproduction of nitric oxide. INTRODUCTION Reactive oxygen species (ROS) include superoxide radical, hydrogen peroxide,peroxyl radicals (ROO . ), hydroxyl radical, as well as reactive nitrogen species such as nitric oxide (NO) and peroxynitrite. ROS are mainly responsible for the initia- tion of oxidation reaction in foods; they change the function- alities of proteins, lipids and carbohydrates by forming oxidized dimmers and trimers (Frankle 2005). ROS make food products less acceptable or unacceptable to consumers and lower the overall nutritional, chemical and physical qualities of food during storage and marketing (Choe and Min 2006). In biological systems, oxidative stress affects major cellular components, including lipids, proteins and DNA, and is involved in such pathologies as cardiovascular diseases (atherosclerosis), inflammatory diseases (asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, allergies), neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson and Alzheimer diseases) and aging (Kris-Etherton et al. 2004; Laguerre et al. 2007). Several synthetic antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyanisole, butylated hydroxytoluene and tert- butylhydroquinone are used for the prevention of the oxida- tive reactions in foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, and the management of oxidative stress-related diseases. Journal of Food Biochemistry ISSN 1745-4514 1 Journal of Food Biochemistry •• (2011) ••–•• © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.