A Narrative Review on the Potential of Black Seeds (Nigella Sativa) in the Management of West Nile Virus Infection

Abstract: West Nile virus (WNV) infection is a mosquito-borne illness that is endemic to Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, and Europe. WNV-infected individuals can only be managed with symptomatic therapy and supportive care at this point of time. Thus, we have analyzed the possible beneficial effects of black seeds (N. sativa) in this literature review. To find relevant articles, various online databases, such as the Web of Science, Medline, PMC, PubMed, Embase, EBSCO, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and reference lists were searched. The antiviral, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory effects of black seeds (N. sativa) have been established by numerous clinical, animal, in vivo, in vitro, and in silico studies. It has been found that black seeds (N. sativa) have the potential to be included as adjuvant therapy in addition to symptomatic treatment and supportive care in the early stages of WNV infection once randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) affirm the safety and efficacy of black seeds (N. sativa) in WNV infection management as they have been considered the gold standard of treatment in clinical studies.