Background: In the last decade, there have been accumulating data that the use of medicinal plants could bring additional benefits to the supportive treatment of various diseases. Nigella sativa (N. sativa, family Ranunculaceae) is one of these plants that has attracted considerable interest. The extracts and seeds of N. sativa and its active component thymoquinone have been studied extensively and the results suggest that N. sativa might carry some therapeutic potential for many diseases, including cancer.

Methods: The selection criteria for references were applied through Pubmed with “N. sativa and cancer”, “N. sativa and breast cancer”, “N. sativa and metastasis”, “N. sativa and cytotoxicity of natural killer cells”. The pathway analysis was performed using the PANTHER tool by using five randomly selected N. sativa affected genes (Cyclin D1, P53, p21 protein (Cdc42/Rac) activated kinase 1 (PAK1), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)) in order to elucidate further potentially affected signaling pathways.

Results: The aim of this review was to summarize studies regarding the effects of N. sativa in cancer generally, with a focus on breast cancer, its anti-metastatic effects, and how N. sativa modulates the cytotoxicity of Natural Killer cells that play a crucial role in tumor surveillance.

Conclusion: In summary, the data suggest that N. sativa might be used for its anti-cancer and antimetastatic properties and as an immune system activator against cancer.

背景：在过去的十年中，越来越多的数据表明，药用植物的使用可以为各种疾病的辅助治疗带来更多的好处。苜蓿（N. sativa，毛an科）是引起人们极大兴趣的其中一种植物。对紫花苜蓿及其活性成分胸腺醌的提取物和种子进行了广泛的研究，结果表明紫花苜蓿可能对包括癌症在内的许多疾病具有治疗潜力。

方法：通过“ N. 水稻和癌症”，“ N。苜蓿和乳腺癌”，“ N。苜蓿和转移”，“ N。天然杀伤细胞的唾液和细胞毒性”。使用PANTHER工具通过使用五个随机选择的受紫花苜蓿感染的基因（Cyclin D1，P53，p21蛋白（Cdc42 / Rac）激活激酶1（PAK1），B细胞淋巴瘤2（Bcl-2）和血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）），以阐明可能受到进一步影响的信号通路。

结果：本综述的目的是总结有关紫花苜蓿在癌症中的一般作用的研究，重点是乳腺癌，其抗转移作用以及紫花苜蓿如何调节天然杀伤细胞的细胞毒性。在肿瘤监测中起关键作用。

结论：总之，数据表明紫花苜蓿可用于其抗癌和抗转移特性以及作为抗癌免疫系统的活化剂。