الفهرس 
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Abstract
The use of medicinal plants in various ailments dates back to the earliest years of man’s evolution (Datner, 2003). There is a developing enthusiasm on the utilization of natural products extracted from medicinal plants in the treatment of different ailments because they cause fewer side effects and the outcomes are more promising. One of the most popular herbs that have been used for more than 2000 years by various cultures in many countries in flavoring food and folk medicine is the black seed, Nigella sativa. (Dajani et al., 2016). Various forms of N. sativa have been utilized in the traditional medicine to manage a number of diseases, i.e., headache, asthma, inflammation, high blood pressure, diabetes, cough, bronchitis, eczema, dizziness, influenza, fever, etc. (Ali and Blunden 2003). Thymoquinone (TQ) is the main constituent of the volatile oil from Nigella sativa seeds. It was found that TQ possesses strong antioxidant properties (Mahmoud and Abdelrazek, 2019), and also it has been proved efficacious against cancer (Khan et al., 2017). It was also demonstrated that TQ has an analgesic and antiinflammatory action (Abdel-Fattah et al., 2000). It protects against asthma (Koshak et al., 2017), hypertension (Dehkordi and Kamkhah, 2008), diabetes (Abdelrazek et al., 2018), and inflammation (Chehl et al., 2009). In addition, TQ is also known to have analgesic, antipyretic (Al-Ghamdi, 2001), antischistosomal (Al Hamshary et al., 2018), antifungal (Islam et al., 1989), antibacterial (Morsi, 1999), anticonvulsant (Raza et al., 2008), hepatoprotective (Kanter et al., 2005), and neuroprotective activities (Khazdair, 2015), among other activities.
Garlic (Allium sativum) has been used as a natural medicine a very long time ago (Lawson, 1998). Garlic contains a number of active compounds containing sulfur and phenol, which have excellent antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. The most characteristic constituents of garlic are alliin and allicin. Alliin is a sulfur-containing amino acid, which is the most representative sulfur compound in fresh garlic. It is converted to allicin by alliinase when garlic is crushed (Park and Chin, 2014). Allicin (diallyl thiosulfinate) is responsible for the typical smell of garlic (Lawson, 1998). Allicin exhibited numerous biological activities such as antioxidant (Zhang et al., 2006), anti-microbial, and anticarcinogenic activities (Cha et al., 2012, Park et al., 2012). Allicin is able to inhibit the proliferation and survival of numerous tumors involving colon, lung, cervix, breast, and gastric cancer (Park et al., 2005, Tao et al., 2014).
Aim of the work
The present study aims at investigating the anticancer activity of thymoquinone and allicin on cancer prostate (PC3) and colon cancer (Caco-2) cell lines. This aim was attained by performing cell cycle analysis, evaluation of some cellular parameters involved in carcinogenesis, which are p53, Bcl2, caspase 3 and survivin using Real Time RT-PCT, and evaluation of some antioxidant parameters, which are reduced glutathione (GSH), lipid peroxide (malondialdehyde, MDA), catalase enzyme (CAT) and nitric oxide (NO), in treated cells as compared to control untreated cells.