Baharetha Hussein M, Nassar Zeyad D, Aisha Abdalrahim F, Ahamed Mohamed B Khadeer, Al-Suede Foaud Saleih R, Abd Kadir Mohd Omar, Ismail Zhari, Majid Amin Malik Shah Abdul
1 EMAN Testing and Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology, Universiti Sains Malaysia , Minden, Malaysia .
J Med Food. 2013 Dec;16(12):1121-30. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2012.2624.
Nigella sativa, commonly referred as black cumin, is a popular spice that has been used since the ancient Egyptians. It has traditionally been used for treatment of various human ailments ranging from fever to intestinal disturbances to cancer. This study investigated the apoptotic, antimetastatic, and anticancer activities of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extracts of the seeds of N. sativa Linn. against estrogen-dependent human breast cancer cells (MCF-7). Twelve extracts were prepared from N. sativa seeds using the SC-CO2 extraction method by varying pressure and temperature. Extracts were analyzed using FTIR and UV-Vis spectrometry. Cytotoxicity of the extracts was evaluated on various human cancer and normal cell lines. Of the 12 extracts, 1 extract (A3) that was prepared at 60°C and 2500 psi (~17.24 MPa) showed selective antiproliferative activity against MCF-7 cells with an IC50 of 53.34±2.15 μg/mL. Induction of apoptosis was confirmed by evaluating caspases activities and observing the cells under a scanning electron microscope. In vitro antimetastatic properties of A3 were investigated by colony formation, cell migration, and cell invasion assays. The elevated levels of caspases in A3 treated MCF-7 cells suggest that A3 is proapoptotic. Further nuclear condensation and fragmentation studies confirmed that A3 induces cytotoxicity through the apoptosis pathway. A3 also demonstrated remarkable inhibition in migration and invasion assays of MCF-7 cells at subcytotoxic concentrations. Thus, this study highlights the therapeutic potentials of SC-CO2 extract of N. sativa in targeting breast cancer.
黑种草，通常被称为黑孜然，是一种自古埃及以来就广受欢迎的香料。传统上，它被用于治疗从发烧到肠道紊乱再到癌症等各种人类疾病。本研究调查了黑种草种子的超临界二氧化碳（SC-CO2）提取物对雌激素依赖性人乳腺癌细胞（MCF-7）的凋亡、抗转移和抗癌活性。通过改变压力和温度，使用SC-CO2提取方法从黑种草种子中制备了12种提取物。提取物采用傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）和紫外可见光谱（UV-Vis）进行分析。评估了提取物对各种人类癌细胞系和正常细胞系的细胞毒性。在这12种提取物中，1种在60°C和2500 psi（约17.24 MPa）下制备的提取物（A3）对MCF-7细胞表现出选择性抗增殖活性，IC50为53.34±2.15 μg/mL。通过评估半胱天冬酶活性并在扫描电子显微镜下观察细胞，证实了凋亡的诱导。通过集落形成、细胞迁移和细胞侵袭试验研究了A3的体外抗转移特性。A3处理的MCF-7细胞中半胱天冬酶水平升高表明A3具有促凋亡作用。进一步的核浓缩和碎片化研究证实，A3通过凋亡途径诱导细胞毒性。A3在亚细胞毒性浓度下对MCF-7细胞的迁移和侵袭试验也表现出显著抑制作用。因此，本研究突出了黑种草SC-CO2提取物靶向乳腺癌的治疗潜力。
