Killing cancer with platycodin D through multiple mechanisms

Abstract

Cancer is a multi‐faceted disease comprised of a combination of genetic, epigenetic, metabolic and signalling aberrations which severely disrupt the normal homoeostasis of cell growth and death. Rational developments of highly selective drugs which specifically block only one of the signalling pathways have been associated with limited therapeutic success. Multi‐targeted prevention of cancer has emerged as a new paradigm for effective anti‐cancer treatment. Platycodin D, a triterpenoid saponin, is one the major active components of the roots of Platycodon grandiflorum and possesses multiple biological and pharmacological properties including, anti‐nociceptive, anti‐atherosclerosis, antiviral, anti‐inflammatory, anti‐obesity, immunoregulatory, hepatoprotective and anti‐tumour activities. Recently, the anti‐cancer activity of platycodin D has been extensively studied. The purpose of this review was to give our perspectives on the current status of platycodin D and discuss its anti‐cancer activity and molecular mechanisms which may help the further design and conduct of pre‐clinical and clinical trials to develop it successfully into a potential lead drug for oncological therapy. Platycodin D has been shown to fight cancer by inducing apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and autophagy and inhibiting angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis by targeting multiple signalling pathways which are frequently deregulated in cancers suggesting that this multi‐target activity rather than a single effect may play an important role in developing platycodin D into potential anti‐cancer drug.

Platycodin D exerts anti-tumor efficacy in H22 tumor-bearing mice via improving immune function and inducing apoptosis

“…PD showed favorable anti-tumor efficacy on several tumor cell lines in previous reports (Khan et al, 2016), and also showed favorable safety on immune organs. As reported by Park et al (2014) that PD in dosages of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg exerted noticeable immunological enhancement and anti-cachexia effects on H520 tumor cell-bearing mice.…”

Bioassay-guided isolation, identification of compounds from Origanum rotundifolium and investigation of their antiproliferative and antioxidant activities

“…Therefore, they have limited therapeutic success in cancer (Khan et al 2015). Cancer chemoprevention by natural products has appeared as a promising and efficient approach to curtail the cancer risk and has gained great interest since it is regarded as safe, cheap and complementary medicine to current healthcare system (Khan et al 2016). Plants have been used in the treatment of cancer for years and have gained the importance to be most attractive source of anticancer drugs.…”

Tubeimoside-1 induces oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis and G0/G1 phase arrest in human prostate carcinoma cells in vitro

“…Inhibition of apoptosis results in tumorigenesis and chemo-resistance. Cancer cells achieve high proliferation rates by inhibiting apoptosis through various mechanisms [6] . Mitochondria are the major organelles involved in apoptosis and have been extensively studied in the last decade [7] .…”