Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Apr 18;8(31):51907-51919.
doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.17206. eCollection 2017 Aug 1.

Thymoquinone, as an anticancer molecule: from basic research to clinical investigation

Md Asaduzzaman Khan  1   2 , Mousumi Tania  3 , Shangyi Fu  4 , Junjiang Fu  1
Affiliations
Review

Thymoquinone, as an anticancer molecule: from basic research to clinical investigation

Md Asaduzzaman Khan et al. Oncotarget. .

Abstract

Thymoquinone is an anticancer phytochemical commonly found in black cumin. In this review, we discuss the potential of thymoquinone as anticancer molecule, its mechanism of action and future usage in clinical applications. Thymoquinone exhibits anticancer activity via numerous mechanisms of action, specifically by showing selective antioxidant and oxidant activity, interfering with DNA structure, affecting carcinogenic signaling molecules/pathways and immunomodulation. In vitro activity of thymoquinone has been further implicated in animal models of cancer; however, no clinical application has been proven yet. This is the optimum time to focus on clinical trials for developing thymoquinone as a future drug in cancer therapeutics.

Keywords: Nigella sativa; anticancer; clinical studies; mouse model; thymoquinone.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The authors declare that there is no conflicts of interest regarding this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The molecular structure of thymoquinone (Chemical name: 2-Isopropyl-5-methylbenzo-1,4-quinone)
Figure 2
Figure 2. Important mechanisms of thymoquinone's anticancer action
Thymoquionone induces apoptosis in cancer cells via generating reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNA damage, telomeric attrition, immunomodulation, regulating signaling pathways and autophagy induction. Thymoquinone also regulates epitheilial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and inhibits cancer metastasis. In non-cancer cells, thymoquione shows anti-oxidant activities and chemopreventive activity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Miller KD, Siegel RL, Lin CC, Mariotto AB, Kramer JL, Rowland JH, Stein KD, Alteri R, Jemal A. Cancer treatment and survivorship statistics, 2016. CA Cancer J Clin. 2016;66:271–289. - PubMed
    1. Chen W, Zheng R, Baade PD, Zhang S, Zeng H, Bray F, Jemal A, Yu XQ, He J. Cancer statistics in China, 2015. CA Cancer J Clin. 2016;66:115–132. - PubMed
    1. Padhye S, Banerjee S, Ahmad A, Mohammad R, Sarkar FH. From here to eternity - the secret of Pharaohs: Therapeutic potential of black cumin seeds and beyond. Cancer Ther. 2008;6:495–510. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Khan MA, Chen HC, Tania M, Zhang DZ. Anticancer activities of Nigella sativa (black cumin) Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med. 2011;8:226–232. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ahmad A, Husain A, Mujeeb M, Khan SA, Najmi AK, Siddique NA, Damanhouri ZA, Anwar F. A review on therapeutic potential of Nigella sativa: A miracle herb. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed. 2013;3:337–352. - PMC - PubMed