Dr. Mondal stated that, "Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is becoming very important as an adjunct therapy in cancer patients, both to ameliorate the side effects of chemotherapy as well as to enhance their anti-tumour effects. The low side effect profiles of natural compounds is also an important aspect in their therapeutic utility as an adjunct to anti-tumour therapy. Indeed, in a previous publication (Exp Biol Med; (2009) Apr; 234(4) :442-53) we had shown that at lower concentrations (<5.0 M) TQ decreases ROS production and increases GSH levels in pancreatic beta-cells, which restored nelfinavir (an anti-HIV agent) induced deleterious effects on these cells. Our current findings suggest that the ROS generating effects of high concentrations of TQ (>20 M) may be of great advantage towards the development of novel anti-cancer therapeutics, especially against hormone-refractory prostate cancers which are much harder to treat."
The research team led by Dr. Krishna C. Agrawal (posthumously) included Dr. Sandeep Koka, previously a graduate student under Dr. Agrawal, and two other faculty members from Tulane University, Dr. Asim B. Abdel-Mageed and Dr. Debasis Mondal. These investigators successfully tested the hypothesis that TQ induced oxidative stress is responsible for its anti-proliferative effects in prostate cancer cells. Since black seed oil have been used in the middle eastern countries for hundreds of years, the investigators postulated that the active component TQ and possibly the oil itself, can be used effectively, either alone or as an adjunct to chemotherapy, to target highly aggressive prostate cancers.
Dr. Steven R. Goodman, Editor-in-Chief of Experimental Biology and Medicine said "Koka et al have demonstrated that Thymoquinone efficiently killed hormone-dependent and hormone-independent prostate cancer cells. The mechanism appears to be that Thymoquinone induces oxidative stress and suppresses GSH levels. This suggests that oxidative stress may lead to decreased tumour growth and increased cell death in highly aggressive forms of prostate cancer."