Nigella sativa L. seed extract alleviates oxidative stress-induced cellular senescence and dysfunction in melanocytes.
10.1016/S1875-5364(25)60824-7
- Author:
Ben NIU
1
;
Xiaohong AN
2
;
Yongmei CHEN
3
;
Ting HE
4
;
Xiao ZHAN
3
;
Xiuqi ZHU
3
;
Fengfeng PING
5
;
Wei ZHANG
6
,
7
;
Jia ZHOU
7
,
8
Author Information
1. School of Traditional Chinese Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China; Wuxi People's Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214023, China.
2. Yunnan Characteristic Plant Extraction Laboratory, Yunnan Yunke Characteristic Plant Extraction Laboratory Co., Ltd., Kunming 650106, China.
3. School of Traditional Chinese Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China.
4. Drug Discovery and Development Laboratories, Ningxia Hui Medicine Research Institute, Yinchuan, 750021, China.
5. Wuxi People's Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214023, China.
6. Hospital for Skin Diseases Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing 210042, China. Electronic address: ifmtjoel@
7. com.
8. School of Traditional Chinese Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China. Electronic address: zjcpu2016@
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Cellular senescence;
Melanin;
Nigella sativa L. seed extract (HZC);
ROS;
Vitiligo
- MeSH:
Oxidative Stress/drug effects*;
Melanocytes/cytology*;
Cellular Senescence/drug effects*;
Nigella sativa/chemistry*;
Plant Extracts/pharmacology*;
Seeds/chemistry*;
Mice;
Animals;
Melanins/metabolism*;
Monophenol Monooxygenase/metabolism*;
Humans
- From:
Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines (English Ed.)
2025;23(2):203-213
- CountryChina
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Nigella sativa L. seeds have been traditionally utilized in Chinese folk medicine for centuries to treat vitiligo. This study revealed that the ethanolic extract of Nigella sativa L. (HZC) enhances melanogenesis and mitigates oxidative stress-induced cellular senescence and dysfunction in melanocytes. In accordance with established protocols, the ethanol fraction from Nigella sativa L. seeds was extracted, concentrated, and lyophilized to evaluate its herbal effects via 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays, tyrosinase activity evaluation, measurement of cellular melanin contents, scratch assays, senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) staining, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and Western blot analysis for expression profiling of experimentally relevant proteins. The results indicated that HZC significantly enhanced tyrosinase activity and melanin content while notably increasing the protein expression levels of Tyr, Mitf, and gp100 in B16F10 cells. Furthermore, HZC effectively mitigated oxidative stress-induced cellular senescence, improved melanocyte condition, and rectified various functional impairments associated with melanocyte dysfunction. These findings suggest that HZC increases melanin synthesis in melanocytes through the activation of the MAPK, PKA, and Wnt signaling pathways. In addition, HZC attenuates oxidative damage induced by H2O2 therapy by activating the nuclear factor E2-related factor 2-antioxidant response element (Nrf2-ARE) pathway and enhancing the activity of downstream antioxidant enzymes, thus preventing premature senescence and dysfunction in melanocytes.
