Nigella sativa (Black Seed) and Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review

Most therapeutic strategies to treat cancer, such as radiation or chemotherapy, result in serious adverse effects. On the other hand, bioactive phytochemicals have the advantage of being safe, higher bioavailability, and less toxicity than current chemotherapeutic drugs. The extracts and phytochemicals compounds of Nigella sativa extract containing its active component such as thymoquinone (TQ), carvacrol, and trans-anethole have been studied extensively for therapeutic potential against many diseases especially cancer. These bioactive compounds inhibit breast cancer cells and promotes apoptosis. The apoptotic potential of N. sativa extract has also been demonstrated when studied in MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cell lines. Therefore, the combination of these compounds in the whole extract can be more effective and better prevent breast cancer propagation. In this systematic review, we investigated the anticancer effects and mechanisms of N. sativa on human and animal cell cultures in vitro.

For this aim, PRISMA checklist was used. The selected keywords including “Nigella sativa” or “Black cumin” “N. sativa and cancer”, or “N. sativa and breast cancer”, or “Black seed and cell culture” were searched in various databases such as “Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Science direct, and Google Scholar”. All in vitro studies of N. sativa extract were included, and clinical, in vivo, and review studies were excluded.

Among the 105 collected published studies, 22 studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. Published reports from these studies showed the positive effects of N. sativa on different types of breast cancer cell cultures. 5 studies out of these 22 studies had excellent quality for this review.

The results of the published studies indicate the positive and practical effects of N. sativa on different types of breast cancer cells, but more actions are needed in this field.