Overview
- In a randomized trial published in Food Science & Nutrition, 42 adults with elevated cholesterol consumed 5 g of black cumin powder daily for eight weeks.
- Compared with controls, participants recorded significant reductions in triglycerides, LDL and total cholesterol, alongside increases in HDL.
- Companion cellular experiments showed black cumin extract inhibited adipogenesis by blocking fat droplet accumulation and adipocyte differentiation.
- Researchers cite phenolics, flavonoids and thymoquinone as plausible drivers of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity linked to the observed effects.
- The authors frame black cumin as a potential functional food and say larger, longer trials will assess outcomes such as insulin resistance and inflammatory markers.