Nigella Sativa

Pharmacology

Antibacterial
Anti-inflammatory
May strengthen immune system (increase WBC, reduce markers of oxidative stress)
Older adults given N. sativa tested significantly higher in measures of attention, memory, overall cognition
Lower cholesterol & blood pressure, regulate blood sugar
Calcium channel block @ 100-3000ug/mL crude seed extract
AMPK activation at 200ug/mL
- Mitochondrial uncoupling in isolated liver mitochondria (25-200ug/mL) but without change in ATP concentrations (similar to Metformin and Berberine)
  - activate AMPK vicariously through causing mitochondrial uncoupling in order to preserve cytoplasmic ATP concentrations.
May have opioidergic signaling that increases GABAergic tone (GABA signaling appears to be enhanced)
- But also suppresses iNOS activation which can dysregulate GABAergic signaling (cGMP suppresses $G A B A_{A}$ )
Analgesic effect similar to aspirin at 100mg/kg (equivalent to 4g seed extract)
A bit of appetite suppression
500mg seed powder appears to improve attention processing & speed of processing without affecting accuracy in older subjects
Fails to prevent symptoms of fever
Protects against TBI/stroke similar to aspirin
@ 10-20mg/kg appears to exert anxiolytic properties
In LPS-induced depression (cytokine depression) 200-400mg/kg nigella sativa can abolish depressant effect in forced swim test & open field test. 200mg/kg appears more effective than higher dose

8/15/22 (10% thymoquinone, 120mg)

What an awful day. At first I wasn’t sure if it was the green tea I had this morning, as I think that variety is a bit stronger, but fuck what an awful combo regardless. I was forgetful, anxious, obsessive, and overall felt quite like I did when I was younger. I even walked away from the counter at Fixed Gear without paying or grabbing my beans. I’ll re-try nigella sativa at a lower dose, as I used to consider it a holy grail and stopped taking it without reason. Tomorrow 50mg. That green tea isn’t very good, so I’ll offer it to Petr and if he doesn’t want it, then throw it out. Hopefully tomorrow goes better! — if the effect is shit again, I’ll take some 4F-MPH just for the productivity.