Effective Medicinal Plant in Cancer Treatment, Part 2: Review Study

Abstract

Cancer is the second cause of death after cardiovascular diseases. With due attention to rapid progress in the phytochemical study of plants, they are becoming popular because of their anticancer effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the effective medicinal plants in the treatment of cancer and study their mechanism of action. In order to gather information the keywords “traditional medicine,” “plant compounds,” “medicinal plant,” “medicinal herb,” “toxicity,” “anticancer effect,” “cell line,” and “treatment” were searched in international databases such as ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Scopus and national databases such as Magiran, Sid, and Iranmedex, and a total of 228 articles were collected. In this phase, 49 nonrelevant articles were excluded. Enhancement P53 protein expression, reducing the expression of proteins P27, P21, NFκB expression and induction of apoptosis, inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway, and reduction of the level of acid phosphatase and lipid peroxidation are the most effective mechanisms of herbal plants that can inhibit cell cycle and proliferation. Common treatments such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy can cause some complications. According to results of this study, herbal extracts have antioxidant compounds that can induce apoptosis and inhibit cell proliferation by the investigated mechanisms.

Insight the Biological Activities of Selected Abietane Diterpenes Isolated from Plectranthus spp.

“…Although the plant kingdom constitutes an extraordinary reservoir of novel bioactive organic molecules, this resource was not fully appreciated until the recent worldwide surge of interest in herbal medicine [24]. Medicinal plants can biosynthesize chemical compounds with different biological properties [25], and these have long been used for treating various civilization diseases including cancer [26][27][28][29].…”

Antifungal Potential of Aqueous Extract of Boswellia carteri

“…The plants of Boswellia species are a rich source of natural resins and several bioactive compounds [7][8][9] . Moreover, essential oils extracted from B. carteri have been reported to exhibit antifungal activity against Candida species 10 , Stachybotrys chartarum, 11 Trichotecium roseum 11 , and toxigenic Aspergillus species [11][12][13][14] .…”

An Overview of Colorectal Cancer: Implication of Two Medicinal Plants in Their Treatment

“…Different improvements are reported in common treatments of cancer by finding secondary compounds of natural products and medicinal herbs. It is believed that anticancer effects of plants develop by suppressing cancer's stimulating enzymes, repairing DNA, stimulating the production of antitumor enzymes in the cell, increasing body immunity, and inducing antioxidant effects [48,49].…”