Natural Products Targeting the Mitochondria in Cancers

Abstract

There are abundant sources of anticancer drugs in nature that have a broad prospect in anticancer drug discovery. Natural compounds, with biological activities extracted from plants and marine and microbial metabolites, have significant antitumor effects, but their mechanisms are various. In addition to providing energy to cells, mitochondria are involved in processes, such as cell differentiation, cell signaling, and cell apoptosis, and they have the ability to regulate cell growth and cell cycle. Summing up recent data on how natural products regulate mitochondria is valuable for the development of anticancer drugs. This review focuses on natural products that have shown antitumor effects via regulating mitochondria. The search was done in PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases, over a 5-year period, between 2015 and 2020, with a keyword search that focused on natural products, natural compounds, phytomedicine, Chinese medicine, antitumor, and mitochondria. Many natural products have been studied to have antitumor effects on different cells and can be further processed into useful drugs to treat cancer. In the process of searching for valuable new drugs, natural products such as terpenoids, flavonoids, saponins, alkaloids, coumarins, and quinones cover the broad space.

Natural products exert anti-tumor effects by regulating exosomal ncRNA

“…In recent years, with the development of scientific research technology, countries are paying more and more attention to the research and development of new natural products, and the research and development of natural products has shown a rapid growth trend ( 13 ). According to relevant information, natural products research hotspots focus on plants, animals and microorganisms on land and in the sea, involving a variety of components including proteins, peptides, amino acids, alkaloids and antibiotics ( 14 , 15 ).…”

A Narrative Review of the Antitumor Activity of Monoterpenes from Essential Oils: An Update

“…Several drugs used in cancer treatment are natural products or derivatives of them, such as taxol, isolated from Taxus baccata and the analogs docetaxel (Taxotere) and cabazitaxel (Jevtana) in addition to vincristine and vinblastine (Velban) derived from Catharanthus roseus and their analogues vindesine (Eldisine) and vinorelbine (Navelbine) [ 3 , 4 ]. In addition, of 175 molecules approved for antitumor therapy between 1940 and 2014, approximately 50% were derived from natural products or their derivatives [ 5 , 6 ].…”

Mitochondrial Dysfunction as a Hallmark of Environmental Injury

“…Yue Yang et al, in 2020, have listed these molecules as diverse as terpenoids (lupeol, betulinic acid), flavonoids (including flavones, isoflavones, flavanols, flavonols, and anthocyanidins), saponins (gracillin, polyphyllin I), alkaloids (codeine, morphine), coumarins (dentatin), quinones (plumbagin) or ichtyotoxins (rotenone). Various molecular processes are impacted by these natural substances, including generation of ROS, eventually leading to dysfunctions as decreased respiration and therefore ATP production, mitochondrial hyperfission, release of cytochrome c and subsequently activation of caspases and apoptosis [ 1 ]. Most of these molecules may have transient effects because they are metabolized by the cells and therefore deactivated.…”