{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T10:17:42Z","timestamp":1787912262122,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787875200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Oral Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Preparations of\n                      <jats:italic>Nigella sativa<\/jats:italic>\n                      and its major bioactive compound thymoquinone (TQ) possess antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing properties. These characteristics suggest potential utility as adjuncts in the management of gingivitis, mucositis, periodontitis, and peri-implantitis.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      To critically evaluate the current clinical evidence regarding the use of\n                      <jats:italic>Nigella sativa<\/jats:italic>\n                      preparations and TQ in periodontal therapy.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A systematic literature search following PRISMA guidelines was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane CENTRAL for English-language clinical studies published through July 2026. Eligible studies investigated preparations of\n                      <jats:italic>Nigella sativa<\/jats:italic>\n                      or TQ for periodontal inflammatory diseases. Hand-searching was performed to identify additional relevant publications.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Fourteen exploratory clinical trials were identified. Overall, adjunctive use of\n                      <jats:italic>Nigella sativa<\/jats:italic>\n                      preparations or TQ was associated with improvements in clinical periodontal outcome measures. However, interpretation is limited by small sample sizes, methodological heterogeneity, short follow-up periods, and insufficient characterization of the investigational products. Only one of the studies adequately reported the administered daily TQ dose.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Without knowledge of the administered TQ dose, neither dose\u2013response relationships nor reliable sample-size calculations for confirmatory trials can be established. Experimental evidence nevertheless supports the biological plausibility of the observed clinical findings and provides a rationale for further clinical investigation.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Current clinical evidence remains preliminary and hypothesis-generating despite encouraging findings. Future confirmatory randomized controlled trials should employ well-characterized, TQ-standardized preparations and report the administered TQ dose to enable reproducibility, dose\u2013response assessment, and evidence-based study planning.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/froh.2026.1875959","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T09:53:45Z","timestamp":1787910825000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Preliminary evidence of effectiveness of preparations from Nigella sativa and its leading compound thymoquinone in periodontal therapy"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Sigrun","family":"Chrubasik-Hausmann","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Freiburg","place":["Freiburg, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Julia","family":"Vlachojannis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Freiburg","place":["Freiburg, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marietta","family":"Wolf","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Operative Dentistry and Periodontology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center \u2013 University of Freiburg","place":["Freiburg, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fabian","family":"Cieplik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Operative Dentistry and Periodontology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center \u2013 University of Freiburg","place":["Freiburg, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ali","family":"Al-Ahmad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Operative Dentistry and Periodontology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center \u2013 University of Freiburg","place":["Freiburg, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"148","DOI":"10.1177\/0022034518805739","article-title":"The oral microbiota is modified by systemic diseases","volume":"98","author":"Graves","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Dent Res"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1111\/prd.12430","article-title":"Interconnection of periodontal disease and comorbidities: evidence, mechanisms, and implications","volume":"89","author":"Hajishengallis","year":"2022","journal-title":"Periodontol 2000"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"11157","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph182111157","article-title":"Evidence and therapeutic perspectives in the relationship between the oral microbiome and Alzheimer's Disease: a systematic review","volume":"18","author":"Maitre","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S71","DOI":"10.1111\/jcpe.12366","article-title":"Primary prevention of periodontitis: managing gingivitis","volume":"42","author":"Chapple","year":"2015","journal-title":"J Clin Periodontol"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.1111\/jcpe.14152","article-title":"Consensus report of the 20th European workshop on periodontology: contemporary and emerging technologies in periodontal diagnosis","volume":"52","author":"Herrera","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Clin Periodontol"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1802","DOI":"10.3390\/ma11101802","article-title":"Oral microbes, biofilms and their role in periodontal and peri-implant diseases","volume":"11","author":"Lasserre","year":"2018","journal-title":"Materials (Basel)"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.1111\/jcpe.13290","article-title":"Treatment of stage I\u2013III periodontitis\u2014the EFP S3 level clinical practice guideline","volume":"47","author":"Sanz","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Clin Periodontol"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"155","DOI":"10.1111\/jcpe.13245","article-title":"Subgingival instrumentation for treatment of periodontitis. 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