Antineoplastic Potential of Medicinal Plants

Abstract

Cancer is one of the most dreaded diseases worldwide and the incidence is on the rise in both developing and developed countries. It is treated by chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. In spite of advances in treatment strategies, cancer still remains a major cause of death. Research is on for development of better drugs which are more effective and simultaneously cause fewer side effects. Plants have been used for the treatment of various ailments of man and animals since ages. They are being screened extensively to explore the possibility of development of economically viable anticancer drugs. Natural products of plant origin currently constitute a considerable proportion of commercially available antineoplastic drugs. This review gives an insight into commercially available anticancer drugs of plant origin and also patents granted to plant derived components, extracts and polyherbal formulations possessing anticancer activity. The exhaustive work reviewed here on antineoplastic activity of various plants both in vitro and experimental models throughout the world will help design further research in this field.

Anticancer potential of aqueous extract of alocasia macrorrhiza against hepatic cancer in vitro and in vivo

“…Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most malignant cancer with a high incidence and mortality, for which current therapeutic approaches are still very limited, although chemotherapy is one of the important therapeutic modalities for HCC, the toxic effects are difficult to tolerate Lu et al, 2010;Roomi et al, 2010;Dai et al, 2011), so, there is an urgent need for development of better drugs which are more effective and simultaneously cause fewer side effects (Mukherjee et al, 2001;Li-Weber, 2010;Shynu et al, 2011). Natural therapies, such as the use of plant-derived products and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in cancer treatment, may reduce adverse side effects Dai et al, 2011;Shynu et al, 2011), medicinal plants and natural products of plant origin are a rich source of cancer chemotherapy drugs, and exhibited low or almost no toxicity to normal tissues, hence, more attention is being paid to searching for new antitumor agents from Fig.…”

“…Natural therapies, such as the use of plant-derived products and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in cancer treatment, may reduce adverse side effects Dai et al, 2011;Shynu et al, 2011), medicinal plants and natural products of plant origin are a rich source of cancer chemotherapy drugs, and exhibited low or almost no toxicity to normal tissues, hence, more attention is being paid to searching for new antitumor agents from Fig. 8.…”

“…Results are mean values ± SD of independent experiments performed in triplicate. natural products (Desai et al, 2008;Sigstedt et al, 2008;George et al, 2010;Dai et al, 2011;Shynu et al, 2011).…”

Lithocarpus Polystachyus Rehd Leaf Aqueous Extract Inhibits Human Breast Cancer Growth In Vitro and In Vivo

“…Therefore, cancer prevention by the use of naturally occurring dietary substances is considered as a practical approach to reduce the ever increasing incidence of cancer (32)(33)(34), more attention has being paid to searching for new antitumor agents from natural products (35)(36)(37).…”

Emblica officinalis(Amla): A review of potential therapeutic applications

“…[49] Anticancer Natural products of plant origin currently constitute a considerable proportion of commercially available antineoplastic drugs. [50] Polyphenols act on multiple targets in pathways and mechanisms related to carcinogenesis, tumor cell proliferation and death, inflammation, metastatic spread, angiogenesis, or drug and radiation resistance. [51] Chemoprevention with food phytochemicals is meanwhile regarded as one of the most important strategies for cancer control.…”