Cancer Preventive and Curative Attributes of Plants of the Cactaceae Family: A Review

Abstract

The ever-increasing occurrence of cancer and the severe side effects and limited efficacy of current cancer chemotherapy based on chemical drugs shift the attention toward drugs of plant origin. The Cactaceae family comprises more than 1500 species, but until recently only a few of them have been tested for their chemopreventive and anticancer attributes, leaving a wide unexplored area still waiting for researchers to investigate. Considering this fact, and also the promising results obtained with the relatively few plants of this family already tested, it should justly be expected that some plants of the Cactaceae family yet unexplored might possess outstanding anticancer attributes, exceeding those displayed by the plants already tested. This review presents in vitro and in vivo experimental evidence on cancer chemopreventive and therapeutic potential of bioactive phytoconstituents and extracts derived from cactus plants. It also examines the underlying biochemical and molecular mechanisms involved in the antineoplastic effects of plants of the Cactaceae family. Current limitation and future directions of research towards effective use of cacti to develop efficient and side effect-free future cancer-preventive and anticancer drugs are also discussed.

Efecto quimioprotector del extracto alcaloideo de Melocactus bellavistensis (CACTUS GLOBOSO) sobre el cáncer de colon inducido con 1,2-dimetilhidrazina en ratas

“…Las plantas de la familia de las cactáceas son principalmente desérticas y semidesérticas, las cuales, debido a condiciones de estrés ambientales adversas (escasez de agua, radiación fuerte, las diferencias de temperatura, y el pobre suelo) pueden haber desarrollado sistemas de defensa altamente eficaces, lo que les permite hacer frente con éxito el medioambiente. Estos sistemas de defensa están hechos de fitoquímicos, tales como alcaloides, flavonoides, terpenos, y taninos, que ya demostraron notable bioactividad contra enfermedades humanas tales como el cáncer y la diabetes (8) . Es así que, a pesar del limitado tamaño de muestra de ratas en el diseño del ensayo de la actividad quimioprotectora, los metabolitos secundarios, y en particular los alcaloides de la cactácea Melocactus bellavistensis, podrían explicar dicha actividad.…”

“…Es ampliamente conocido que alcaloides de origen vegetal poseen actividad anticancerígena, como por ejemplo: los alcaloides de la vinca (5) , la campotecina, el placitaxol, la berberina y la capsaicina (6,7) . La familia Cactaceae comprende más de 1500 especies, pero solo recientemente unas pocas de ellas han sido ensayadas por sus atributos quimiopreventivos y anticancerígenos, como Opuntia ficus (8) . Por lo que es importante evaluar plantas nativas de la familia Cactaceae, para evaluar su poder citotóxico, en especial de sus alcaloides; así, Melocactus bellavistensis (cactus globoso) fue seleccionado para esta investigación.…”

Antitumor activity of Pachycereus marginatus (DC.) Britton Rose extracts against murine lymphoma L5178Y-R and skin melanoma B16F10 cells

“…There are many reports on compounds with anticancer properties (Plaeger, 2003), including taxol, vincristine, vinblastine, tepocan, irinotecan, and etoposide-teniposide, which are commonly used in cancer therapy (Lu et al, 2003). The Cactaceae family is reported to contain about 1,500 species, which are distributed worldwide (Harlev et al, 2013). Medicinal uses of cacti include antitumor (Loro et al, 1999;Sreekanth et al, 2007;Franco-Molina et al, 2003;Harlev et al, 2013;), anti-inflammatory (Park et al, 1998;Loro et al, 1999), neuroprotective (Kim et al, 2006;Shetty et al, 2012), hepatoprotective (Ncibi et al, 2008), and anti-diabetes (Hassan et al, 2011) activities.…”

“…The Cactaceae family is reported to contain about 1,500 species, which are distributed worldwide (Harlev et al, 2013). Medicinal uses of cacti include antitumor (Loro et al, 1999;Sreekanth et al, 2007;Franco-Molina et al, 2003;Harlev et al, 2013;), anti-inflammatory (Park et al, 1998;Loro et al, 1999), neuroprotective (Kim et al, 2006;Shetty et al, 2012), hepatoprotective (Ncibi et al, 2008), and anti-diabetes (Hassan et al, 2011) activities. An important goal in medicinal plant research is to avoid extensive and repetitive studies on known plants with limited anticancer potential, and focus on promising plants that have not been investigated; the present study was performed following these basic principles.…”

“…In the search for alternatives to treat diseases, researchers worldwide have taken the task of finding (Shetty et al, 2012;Harlev et al, 2013;Lema-Rumińska and Kulus, 2014). Pachycereus marginatus (DC.)…”