The Effect of (Kalonji) on Cardiometabolic Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Controlled Trials BACKGROUND INFORMATION The Holy Quran says:

َي ـٰٓأَ ُّي َها ٱلَّ ِذي َنَ َءا َم ُنو اَ كلُو اَ ِمن َط ِّي َب ـ ِتَ َما َر َزق َن ـ ُك مَ َوٱش ُك ُرو اَ ِ َّ ِلِلَ إِن كنت مَ إِ َّيا ُهَ َتع ُب ُدو َنَ

O ye who believe! Eat of the good things wherewith We have provided you, and render thanks to Allah if it is (indeed) He whom ye worship” (Holy Qur’an 2:172). Black seed in the light of Hadith:

Abu Salama and Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab said that Abu Hurayra reported to them that he heard the Messenger of Allah, (peace be upon Him), say, "There is healing in black seed for every illness except death (sam)."

Bukhari: #5363 Black seed in the light of Promised Messiah’s Writing:

The Promised Messiah (alayhi al-salam) said, “Regarding Kalonji, in Hadith it is said that it is a cure for all diseases except death. Its name also denotes this property. The word ‘kalonji’ is a compound meaning whoever eats it, is ’من اکل و نجا‘ name, from liberated [from illness]. With usage and being transferred to another language, some letters are consumed, changed and/or increased.” (Tibb-e-Masih) What is Black seed?

● Black Seed or Kalonji has been used as a spice in South Asian, Middle Eastern, Asian, European, and African countries. ● Historically, it has been used as a medicinal for treating headaches, nasal congestion, infections etc. and is now used for treating digestive tract conditions and respiratory conditions.

Black Cumin Onion Black Seed (kala Zeera) (Zeera) Seeds (Kalonji)

● Black Seed (Kalonji) is often confused with other seeds such as Black Cumin seeds, Cumin, and Onion Seeds ● Black Seed is Nigella Sativa, and is not related to Cumin (Cuminum Cyminum), Black Cumin ( bulbocastanum) or Onion seeds. ● Black Seed is also called “Blessed Seed” in Arabic Black Seed a.k.a. Kalonji Black Seed Plant Composition of Black seed

● Black seed has been reported to contain: ○ 15 amino acids including 9 essential ones ○ Main amino acids present were Glutamic acid, Arginine, Aspartic Acid ● Fatty Acids ● Carbohydrates ● Fiber ● Vitamins/minerals ○ Contains Zinc, Calcium, Iron, Sodium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Vitamin B1, Vitamin 12, Niacin and Folic Acid ● It also contains various bioactive components such as Thymoquinone which consist of many pharmacological properties. The Purpose of the study

The objective of the study was to look at the effect that black seed has on various different cardiometabolic outcomes including

● Lipid factors such as total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C, ● Liver factors like BUN, Uric acid etc ● Glycemic factors ● Weight Methodology of Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis for Randomized Controlled Trials Design

Design: Reporting: Cochrane Preferred reporting items for systematic Handbook for review and meta-analyses (PRISMA) Systematic Review guidelines of Interventions DATA Collection Literature Search

1946-Present 1991-Present

1947-Present Eligibility Criteria Study Selection Process

1. Screening of title and abstract for exclusion criteria 1 2. Review of full text for exclusion 2 criteria

Papers eligible in meta-analysis Data extraction Conducted by 2 independent reviewers ● Study Design ● Sample Size ● Sample Description (age, BMI, sex, smoking status, disease) ● Oat Intervention or Control ● Baseline and Endpoint Measurements ● Statistical Analyses ● Accounts for confounding factors ● Risk of Bias, Funding Source Data Analysis

● After data extraction, the baseline/endpoint measurements were added to Review Manager 5.3 ● This software provided the pooled results from all the extracted data specific to each outcome ● These final results were used to make a superplot to determine if the outcomes favored the experimental (black seed) or the control. RESULTS Table of Characteristics

Characteristic: Result:

# of Studies 593 studies were identified in the data collection process, 15 are currently being used for analysis

Average length of study 2-48 weeks

Location Saudi Arabia, India, Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia

Participant Information 18-79 years old, equally distributed between males and females, various health backgrounds

Controls Conservative management (metformin + atorvastatin), activated charcoal, brown sugar, flour, cellulose, mineral oil, calcium lactate, statin

Conclusion

● Overall, Kalonji significantly reduced cholesterol, blood pressure, and glucose levels ● However, there is substantial heterogeneity which needs to be explored further with longer and larger studies ● This is still a work in progress as more studies are being extracted and analysed at this point in time. Acknowledgement

In the end we would like to thank Dr. Tauseef Ahmad Khan for his guidance and supervision. JazakAllah. Questions?