Phytochemicals in Anticancer Drug Development

Abstract

Background: In spite of major technological advances in conventional therapies, cancer continues to remain the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Phytochemicals are gradually emerging as a rich source of effective but safer agents against many life-threatening diseases. Methods: Various phytochemicals with reported anticancer activity have been simply categorized into major phytoconstituents- alkaloids, polyphenols, saponins, tannins and terpenoids. Results: The adverse effects associated with currently available anticancer medications may be overcome by using plant-derived compounds either alone or in combination. Exploration of plant kingdom may provide new leads for the accelerated development of new anticancer agents. Conclusion: Although numerous potent synthetic drugs have been introduced for cancer chemotherapy, yet their serious toxicity concerns to normal cells apart from drug resistance have emerged as the major obstacles for their clinical utility over a prolonged duration of time. Current status and potential of phytochemicals and their derivatives in cancer therapy have been briefly reviewed in the present manuscript.

Phytochemical Analysis and Antimicrobial/Antioxidant Activity ofCynodon dactylon(L.) Pers. Rhizome Methanolic Extract

“…It should be noted that a high extraction yield for an extract does not necessarily mean a high content of active ingredients. According to the literature, despite the higher yield of an extraction method than another one, the contents of the extracted active ingredients such as phenolic compounds may be lower in the extract with the higher yield [4].…”

“…Plant essential oils, extracts, and various kinds of secondary metabolites are known as substances with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties with little or no toxic effects, which are vital in the management of many diseases [2,3]. Actually, secondary metabolites with tremendous biological potential, known as phytochemicals, are ubiquitously present in plants and now are used as the mainstay of drug development [4].…”

Physicochemical and Antioxidant Properties of the Degradations of Polysaccharides from Dendrobium officinale and Their Suitable Molecular Weight Range on Inducing HeLa Cell Apoptosis

“…In addition, it presents the rising trend in morbidity, especially in developing countries [2]. Nevertheless, almost all chemotherapy drugs in the current market lead to serious side effects so that looking for a novel natural compound without side effects is crucial for the treatment of cancer [3].…”

Naja ashei venom induces mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in human colorectal cancer cells

“…The largest source of bioactive chemicals is nature. Numerous articles have documented antiproliferative/anticancer effects of plant-derived compounds known as a phytochemicals (Dutt et al, 2018;Einbond et al, 2017;Iqbal et al, 2018). In our laboratory we have also documented antiproliferative effect of several flavonoids, chalcones or indole phytoalexins (Kello et al, 2014;Takac et al, 2018;Tischlerova et al, 2017).…”