Enhanced Differentiation of Wharton's Jelly-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Insulin-Producing Cells by the Extract of Nigella sativa Seeds

With regards to the high potential of medicinal plants in the production of biopharmaceuticals, one can rely on the promising prospect of insulin production via plant resources.
This study was conducted with the aim of using plant extract for insulin-producing cells.
This was a quasi-experimental study using critical case sampling. Six samples were gathered from the umbilical cord (Wharton’s jelly) in a governmental university affiliated hospital, Sari, Iran in 2017 after successful isolation of mesenchymal stem cells. Initially, Nigella sativa seeds extraction was performed to prepare the extract for cellular differentiation. Next, dithizone (DTZ) staining was used to evaluate insulin production, and insulin level was examined by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Data were analyzed was analyzed with the SPSS version 16 software using independent sample t-test.
The mean of the amount of insulin secretion was 92.33 ± 5.13 ng/ml for the intervention and 0.33 ± 0.15 ng/ml for the control group. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the average insulin in the culture obtained from Nigella sativa seeds between control and intervention groups (P = 0.001). In addition, via the ELISA kit and specific dithizone staining, insulin-producing cells were proven.
In this regard, it could be concluded that the extract of Nigella sativa seeds was capable of including differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells derived from Wharton’s jelly to IPCs.