Anticancer drug discovery from Chinese medicinal herbs

Abstract

Cancer is still presenting a serious threat to human health worldwide. The understanding of the complex biology of cancer and the development of oncotherapy have led to increasing treatment approaches such as targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Chinese medicinal herbs have attracted considerable attention due to their potential anticancer effects. Some natural products or formulae from Chinese medicinal herbs with directly or indirectly anticancer effects have been reported. In this article, we summarized the current progression on development of anticancer drugs from Chinese medicinal herbs, toward providing ideas for further development and application of Chinese medicinal herbs in cancer therapy.

Ethanol extract of Ophiorrhiza pumila suppresses liver cancer cell proliferation and migration

“…Nature products are important source of anti-cancer agents [5][6][7][8]. The genus Ophiorrhiza, a member of Rubiaceae family, is distributed throughout tropical and subtropical Asia.…”

Cytotoxicity, Cell Cycle Arrest, and Apoptosis Induction Activity of Ethyl-p-methoxycinnamate in Cholangiocarcinoma Cell

“…Based on the information, EPMC might also have anticancer activity in cholangiocarcinoma. Apoptosis and cell cycle arrest activities are major parameters to evaluate anticancer properties of potential candidate compounds (Czarnomysy et al, 2018;Huang et al, 2018). However, potential drug resistance induction by these compounds should be an issue of concern in the development of novel anticancer agents (Huang et al, 2018).…”

“…Apoptosis and cell cycle arrest activities are major parameters to evaluate anticancer properties of potential candidate compounds (Czarnomysy et al, 2018;Huang et al, 2018). However, potential drug resistance induction by these compounds should be an issue of concern in the development of novel anticancer agents (Huang et al, 2018). Chemoresistance often caused by overexpression of mdr-1 gene that encodes p-glycoprotein or multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1) (Hodges et al, 2011).…”

The Application of Nanotechnology in the Codelivery of Active Constituents of Plants and Chemotherapeutics for Overcoming Physiological Barriers during Antitumor Treatment

“…e combination of active constituents of plants with first-line chemotherapy drugs has shown good efficacy in reversing tumor chemoresistance, enhancing curative effects, and reducing adverse reactions. Combination treatment of active constituents of plants with chemotherapy drugs for tumor therapy has recently become very popular [2][3][4]. However, direct administration of free drugs has several disadvantages, such as short duration in blood circulation and nonselectivity for tumor tissue and tumor cells.…”