ReviewMolecular biology reports2023
Molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways of black cumin (Nigella sativa) and its active constituent, thymoquinone: a review.
Review in Molecular biology reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- The alteration of brain function in overweight/obese individuals and the neurological benefit of thymoquinone: uncovering molecular mechanisms.Metabolic brain disease · 2026Review
- Thymoquinone Enhances Tamoxifen Efficacy Against Triple-Negative Breast Cancer by Targeting EMT Signaling.International journal of breast cancer · 2026Article
- Natural products as kinase inhibitors in lung cancer: molecular mechanisms, therapeutic potential, and clinical trials.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
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- Anticancer effects of thymoquinone on prostate cancer cells and natural killer cell activity.Oncology letters · 2025Article
- Analysis of Pharmacological Properties ofLife (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
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- A comprehensive review of medicinal plants and their beneficial roles in alleviating bisphenol A-induced organ toxicity.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2025Review
- Thymoquinone controlled obesity and invigorated cognitive and memory performance in rats consuming a high-fat diet via modulating oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Efficacy of TopicalLaryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2025Article
- Novel Thymoquinone Derivative TQFL28 Inhibits Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) Invasiveness In Vitro and In Vivo.Current issues in molecular biology · 2025Article
- Herbal Medicine: Enhancing the Anticancer Potential of Natural Products in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Therapy Through Advanced Drug Delivery Systems.Pharmaceutics · 2025Review
- Behavioral and histological study on the neuroprotective effect of thymoquinone on the cerebellum in AlCl3-induced neurotoxicity in rats through modulation of oxidative stress, apoptosis, and autophagy.Journal of molecular histology · 2025Article
- Design and synthesis of natural antibacterial derivatives for ocular tuberculosis: a comprehensive review.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Exploring the Chemopreventive Potential ofPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The Effect of Thymoquinone on the TNF-α/OTULIN/NF-κB Axis Against Cisplatin-İnduced Testicular Tissue Damage.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2024Article
- Stereological and biochemical effects of thymoquinone on ovarian tissue toxicity induced by silver nanoparticles in NMRI mice: An experimental study.International journal of reproductive biomedicine · 2024Article
- Protective effects ofVeterinary research forum : an international quarterly journal · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNigella sativa and its main bioactive ingredient, thymoquinone, exhibit various pharmacological activities, including neuroprotective, nephroprotective, cardioprotective, gastroprotective, hepatoprotective, and anti-cancer effects. Many studies have been conducted trying to elucidate the molecular signaling pathways that mediate these diverse pharmacological properties of N. sativa and thymoquinone. Accordingly, the goal of this review is to show the effects of N. sativa and thymoquinone on different cell signaling pathways.
methodsThe online databases Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science were searched to identify relevant articles using a list of related keywords such as Nigella sativa, black cumin, thymoquinone, black seed, signal transduction, cell signaling, antioxidant, Nrf2, NF-κB, PI3K/AKT, apoptosis, JAK/STAT, AMPK, MAPK, etc. Only articles published in the English language until May 2022 were included in the present review article.
resultsStudies indicate that N. sativa and thymoquinone improve antioxidant enzyme activities, effectively scavenges free radicals, and thus protect cells from oxidative stress. They can also regulate responses to oxidative stress and inflammation via Nrf2 and NF-κB pathways. N. sativa and thymoquinone can inhibit cancer cell proliferation through disruption of the PI3K/AKT pathway by upregulating phosphatase and tensin homolog. Thymoquinone can modulate reactive oxygen species levels in tumor cells, arrest the cell cycle in the G2/M phase as well as affect molecular targets including p53, STAT3 and trigger the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. Thymoquinone, by adjusting AMPK, can regulate cellular metabolism and energy hemostasis. Finally, N. sativa and thymoquinone can elevate brain GABA content, and thus it may ameliorate epilepsy.
conclusionsTaken together, the improvement of antioxidant status and prevention of inflammatory process by modulating the Nrf2 and NF-κB signaling and inhibition of cancer cell proliferation through disruption of the PI3K/AKT pathway appear to be the main mechanisms involved in different pharmacological properties of N. sativa and thymoquinone.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.