Anticancer activity of Nigella sativa and its bioactive compounds: An update

Abstract

Nigella sativa (black cumin) is a widely recognized medicinal plant in traditional medicine, and its seeds and seed oil are used in the treatment of various diseases. This plant and its bioactive compounds exhibit numerous biological activities such as anti-diabetic, anticancer, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory, among others. N. sativa contains many bioactive compounds, including important antineoplastic agents such as thymoquinone, α-hederin, carvacrol, and thymol. This review focuses on and discusses the medicinal and health-promoting effects of N. sativa and covers the recent developments that deal with the anticancer activity of this medicinal plant and its bioactive compounds, with an emphasis on the mechanism of action. The findings demonstrated that the preventive effect of N. sativaand its bioactive phytochemicals are associated with its ability to decrease inflammation and exert immune-enhancing actions. The plant and its phytochemicals also enhance natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity, apoptotic effects on carcinoma cells, and control signal transduction pathways including caspases, p53, ROS, AMPK/mTOR, NF-κB, JAK2/STAT3, and PI3K/Akt in suppressing cancer and tumorigenesis. However, this suggests the use of the plant as a chemotherapeutic agent and further clinical assessment of the bioactive phytochemicals to establish a reliable anticancer drug.