THE POTENTIAL ANTI-TUMOR BENIFITES OF NIGELLA SATIVA

Abstract

Introduction: Neoplastic diseases fall into the group of socially significant diseases. The fight against these diseases is extremely difficult and prevention still remains the only effective way to deal with them. Herbal medicine is a modern field of medicine, which studies different plants, especially herbs and their application in cancer treatment. One of the not-so-popular herbs is Nigella Sativa , also known as black seed or black cumin. It is an annual flowering plant, which is grown almost all over the world, but it is native to Southern and Southwest Asia. It belongs to the botanical family Ranunculaceae . Chemical analysis of Nigella sativa oil shows that it contains of thymoquinone, dithymoquinone, transanethole,conjugated linoleic acid, nigilline and melanthin. Materials and Methods: A documentary approach was used. A targeted thematic analysis of scientific publications available in PubMed and Science Direct is presented. Results: The most crucial aspects of the anti-tumor properties of Nigella sativa are: anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic (decreases TNFα,IL-6, prolactin, estradiol, progesterone and increases caspase-3,8,9 and p53), anti-oxidant and cytotoxic (decreases ROS,NO and lipid peroxides, increases GSH), anti-mutagenic (decreases genomic mutations and increases DNK replication fidelity, DNA repair, degradation of mutagens), anti-metastatic (decreases PAI-1, t-PA, u-PA) and NK toxic effects (increases TNF-α and IFNγ). Exposure of MCF-7 breast cancer cells to aqueous and alcohol extracts alone or in the presence of descending potency for H 2 O 2 completely inactivated growth of these cells, suggesting that N.sativa , alone or in combination with oxidative stress, is an effective anti-cancer agent Conclusion: As part of a holistic approach to oncologic diseases, Nigella sativa fractions can be used in combination with chemotherapeutic agents to control the disease.