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Review
. 2021 Nov;26(11):2716-2725.
doi: 10.1016/j.drudis.2021.07.013. Epub 2021 Jul 22.

Thymoquinone: A small molecule from nature with high therapeutic potential

Safiya Malik  1 , Amardeep Singh  1 , Poonam Negi  1 , Vijay Kumar Kapoor  2
Affiliations
Review

Thymoquinone: A small molecule from nature with high therapeutic potential

Safiya Malik et al. Drug Discov Today. 2021 Nov.

Abstract

Thymoquinone (TQ; 2-isopropyl-5-methylbenzo-1, 4-quinone), the main active constituent of Nigella sativa, has been proven to have great therapeutic properties in numerous in vivo and in vitro models. Nevertheless, this molecule is not yet in clinical trials, largely because of its poor bioavailability and hydrophobicity. This review examines the different activities of TQ, as well as various combination therapies, nanotechnologies and clinical trials involving TQ. The TQ nanoparticle formulation shows better bioavailability than free TQ, and it is time for clinical trials of these formulations to realize the potential of TQ as a therapeutic.

Keywords: Analogs; Biological activities; Clinical trials; Molecular mechanism; Nanotechnology; Preclinical studies; Thymoquinone.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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