Thymoquinone has been an intriguing find in the field of medicine and health science. Thymoquinone is a chemical extracted from the Nigella Sativa plant or also known as the Fennel Flower. (The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology.) The earliest uses of Nigella Sativa, or black seed, date back to 570 C.E. (naturalsociety.com). This plant has been used as a medicine for all types of human illnesses. Because of its potency in reducing or curing diseases, it was deemed as the “cure to all diseases except death”. (The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology.) With all its glory, could thymoquinone become the cure to cancer? Thymoquinone has a similar chemical make to glucose and cellulose. Its chemical makeup is C10H12O2.
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This article (Thymoquinone, Constituents of Nigella Sativa, on Human Cancer Cell Lines) states that thymoquinone destroys cancer cells by inducing apoptosis. The scientists of the article investigated the effect of thymoquinone on lung carcinoma, larynx epidermoid carcinoma, colon adenocarcinoma, and pancreatic carcinoma. Thymoquinone was found to have both cytotoxic and apoptotic effects on the cancers. Cytotoxic means that it was toxic to some living cells. Apoptotic means that it could induce the cell to destroy itself. Thymoquinone showed a major effect on the cells tested. The larynx epidermoid carcinoma cancer cells were the most affected. They exhibited apoptosis in a much higher incidence. The article also proposed that combining the power of thymoquinone with a drug called alpha hederin. An experiment was conducted with this mixture. The results showed that the alpha hedrin did nothing to kill the cells. Although this hypothesis failed, it helped promote a theory that thymoquinone can be used with another drug to enhance its effect on …show more content…
In the chapter Hixon states that TQ can mimic those signals in some cancerous cells and cause the cell to kill itself. Another way TQ is said to kill cells is through oxidative stress. TQ was used in an experiment to see if it could kill some liver cancer cells. The experiment showed that TQ used certain oxygen species to put oxidative pressure to the cancerous cells. This in turn caused so much pressure on the cell, that it bursted. Hixon states that although TQ is good, it is hard for it to be used because it is not aqueous. The author of the book states that if TQ was mixed with another drug, it could potentially be the leading drug to cure cancer. TQ’s in toxicity and fast cancer killing agents can be amplified if added to other low end cancer drugs. This could potentially be the cure to
This article (Thymoquinone, Constituents of Nigella Sativa, on Human Cancer Cell Lines) states that thymoquinone destroys cancer cells by inducing apoptosis. The scientists of the article investigated the effect of thymoquinone on lung carcinoma, larynx epidermoid carcinoma, colon adenocarcinoma, and pancreatic carcinoma. Thymoquinone was found to have both cytotoxic and apoptotic effects on the cancers. Cytotoxic means that it was toxic to some living cells. Apoptotic means that it could induce the cell to destroy itself. Thymoquinone showed a major effect on the cells tested. The larynx epidermoid carcinoma cancer cells were the most affected. They exhibited apoptosis in a much higher incidence. The article also proposed that combining the power of thymoquinone with a drug called alpha hederin. An experiment was conducted with this mixture. The results showed that the alpha hedrin did nothing to kill the cells. Although this hypothesis failed, it helped promote a theory that thymoquinone can be used with another drug to enhance its effect on …show more content…
In the chapter Hixon states that TQ can mimic those signals in some cancerous cells and cause the cell to kill itself. Another way TQ is said to kill cells is through oxidative stress. TQ was used in an experiment to see if it could kill some liver cancer cells. The experiment showed that TQ used certain oxygen species to put oxidative pressure to the cancerous cells. This in turn caused so much pressure on the cell, that it bursted. Hixon states that although TQ is good, it is hard for it to be used because it is not aqueous. The author of the book states that if TQ was mixed with another drug, it could potentially be the leading drug to cure cancer. TQ’s in toxicity and fast cancer killing agents can be amplified if added to other low end cancer drugs. This could potentially be the cure to