Black Seed ingredient may fight all types of prostate cancer and may also be used for prevention due to its safety
Blocking male hormone (androgen ablation therapy) is used to treat prostate cancer. If there is a relapse of the cancer after this treatment then the tumor no longer responds to blocking androgens and it is termed a hormone refractory prostate cancer; it no longer requires androgen to grow; this is a very advanced and dangerous condition with a grim prognosis. Black Seed contains Thymoquinone. Black Seed has been used for thousands of years both medicinally and for flavoring in food in Asian and Middle Eastern countries. Black Seed has a reported antineoplastic effect in lab and animal studies. Scientists at the Department of Hematology and Oncology at the Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan report that they’ve recently observed that Thymoquinone did not affect healthy prostate cells but inhibited the growth and viability of cancerous prostate cells. The prostate cancer cells included were LNCaP cells which respond to androgen blocking, C4-B cells (an advanced and refractory form that had metastasized to bone), DU145 cells that do not respond to androgen blocking (these cells had metastasized to the brain), and PC-3 cells that do not respond to androgen (these cells had metastasized to the bone).
In the second phase of the study prostate cancer from humans was grafted into mice that lacked an immune system; they will dependably develop any cancer introduced into their body. The type of prostate cancer that was grafted was an advanced form that had metastasized to bone and is androgen independent. Thymoquinone inhibited the growth of the cancer in these mice that would be otherwise helpless to defend themselves from cancerous growth. There was a dramatic drop in gene activity and factors that support the growth and viability of the cancer and Thymoquinone was causing the death of the prostate tumors cells. The Black Seed ingredient also interfered with processes seen in earlier-androgen dependent prostate cancer tumors but had no side effects in the animals. The researchers write “We conclude that Thymoquinone, a naturally occurring herbal product, may prove to be effective in treating hormone-sensitive as well as hormone-refractory prostate cancer.” “Furthermore, because of its selective effect on cancer cells, we believe that Thymoquinone can also be used safely to help prevent the development of prostate cancer.” The research is published in the August 15th 2007 issue of the journal Cancer Research.