Natural Products: Promising Resources for Cancer Drug Discovery

Abstract

Natural products are important sources of anti-cancer lead molecules. Many successful anti-cancer drugs are natural products or their analogues. Many more are under clinical trials. The present review focuses on chemopreventive and anti-cancer activities of polar and non-polar extracts, semi purified fractions and pure molecules from terrestrial plants of India reported between 2005 and 2010 emphasizing possible mechanisms of action of pure molecules.

Cytological and Subcellular Response of Cells Exposed to the Type-1 RIP Curcin and its Hemocompatibility Analysis

“…More than 30% of the pharmaceutical agents currently available are of natural origins or their derivatives which form the major source of therapeutic options against a wide range of diseases 31,32 , signifying not only the advantages of such compounds, but urging the need for newer and more potent versions. In this study, we reported on the multi-dimensional cytocidal effects of curcin on different cell lineages.…”

Vitexicarpin Induces Apoptosis in Human Prostate Carcinoma PC-3 Cells through G2/M Phase Arrest

“…Herbal medicines have been proven to be a major source of novel agents with diverse pharmaceutical activities and structures (Mishra and Tiwari, 2011;De et al, 2012;Mondal et al, 2012). Natural products have traditionally provided a rich source of drugs for many diseases, including cancer.…”

Phytochemical screening, cytotoxicity and acute toxicity of Annona vepretorum Mart (Annonaceae) leaf extracts

“…Thus, it is critical to characterize the toxicity profile of potential candidates for antitumor agents [25]. It was observed that a single oral administration of 2 g/kg body weight extracts of A. vepretorum leaves did not cause any mortality or alteration in behavioural or physiological state of animals indicating that the plant extracts are not toxic at the tested dose and that its LD 50 is likely to be greater than 2 g/kg.…”