Afreen Usmani, Anuradha Mishra, Mohammed Haris Siddiqui
Nigella sativa belongs to the family of Ranunculaceae, it is commonly known as Black Cumin in English and Kalonji in Indian vernacular. Since time immemorial, it has been useful in Unani, Ayurveda and Chinese system of medicines. Thymoquinone, dithymoquinone, thymol, thymohydroquinone and nigellone are the main active constituents of the same. The therapeutic effect and bioavailability of extract and thymoquinone are restricted due to poor solubility and stability issues. Currently, researches have been carried out for the improvement of bioavailability of plant extract and their phytocompounds through nanotechnological approaches. The nature of the material used (PLGA, chitosan, cyclodextrins, etc.) for the preparation of nanoformulations have significant impacts on improving pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of phytoconstituents. This review focuses on the aspects of nano formulations for delivery of Kalonji and Thymoquinone with improved kinetic and reduced toxicity. It deals with therapeutic effects and provides compendious review on nano-systems of Kalonji with the aim to develop novel pharmaceutical nanoformulation for critical illnesses.