Research Status and Hotspots of Anticancer Natural Products Based on the Patent Literature and Scientific Articles

Abstract

Background: The patent literature contains a large amount of information on the internal state of current industrial technologies that are not available in other literature studies. Scientific articles are the direct achievements of theoretical research in this field and can reveal how current theories in basic research have developed. In this study, the progress and status of natural anticancer products in this field were summarized, and the research hotspots were explored through the analysis of the relevant patent literature and scientific articles.Methods: Patent data were retrieved from the incoPat patent retrieval database, and paper data were retrieved from the Web of Science core set and PubMed. GraphPad Prism 8, Microsoft Excel 2010, and CiteSpace 5.8.R3 were used to perform visual processing. The analyzed patent literature includes the patent applicant type, country (or region), and technical subject. The analyzed scientific article includes academic groups, subject areas, keyword clustering, and burst detection.Results: A total of 20,435 patent families and 38,746 articles were collected by 4 January 2022. At present, antitumor drugs derived from natural products mainly include 1) apoptosis inducers such as curcumin, gallic acid, resveratrol, Theranekron D6, and gaillardin; 2) topoisomerase inhibitors such as camptothecins, scaffold-hopped flavones, podophyllotoxin, oxocrebanine, and evodiamine derivatives; 3) telomerase inhibitors such as camptothecin and isoquinoline alkaloids of Chelidonium majus, amentoflavone, and emodin; 4) microtubule inhibitors such as kolaflavanone, tanshinone IIA analog, eugenol, and millepachine; 5) immunomodulators such as fucoidan, myricetin, bergapten, and atractylenolide I; 6) tumor microenvironment regulators such as beta-escin and icaritin; 7) multidrug resistance reversal agents such as berberine, quercetin, and dihydromyricetin; and 8) antiangiogenic and antimetastatic agents such as epigallocatechin-3-gallate, lupeol, ononin, and saikosaponin A.Conclusion: Anticancer natural product technology was introduced earlier, but the later development momentum was insufficient. In addition, scientific research activities are relatively closed, and technical exchanges need to be strengthened. Currently, the development of medicinal plants and the research on the anticancer mechanism of natural active products are still research hotspots, especially those related to immune checkpoints, essential oils, and metastatic cancer. Theories of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), such as “restraining excessiveness to acquire harmony,” “same treatment for different diseases,” “Meridian induction theory,” and “Fuzheng Quxie,” have important guiding significance to the research of anticancer mechanisms and the development of new drugs and can provide new ideas for this process.Systematic Review Registration: [https://sourceforge.net/projects/citespace/], identifier [000755430500001].

Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Propolis and Its Polyphenolic Compounds against Cancer

“…Similarly, high levels of telomerase are found in breast cancer patients [ 418 ], colorectal cancers [ 419 ], and gastrointestinal cancer [ 69 ]. A catalytic subunit of human telomerase is telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), and telomerase expression in most cancer cells is proportional to the expression of hTERT mRNA [ 420 , 421 ]. Accordingly, telomerase inactivation or its destabilization, in particular by natural products such as propolis and its polyphenolic constituents, is considered to be a promising approach for drug development in cancer therapy as progressive telomere shortening to a critical level results in apoptosis.…”

Strategic developments in the drug delivery of natural product dihydromyricetin: applications, prospects, and challenges

“…The natural fiber extract cellulose nanocrystalline (CNC) is a stable and effective solid particle emulsifier with good biocompatibility and biodegradability. Pickering emulsion stabilized by CNC can achieve increased loading and sustained release of DHM and can improve the stability of DHM (P Shen et al., 2022 ). Lysozyme (LY) is a multifunctional natural single-chain protein, which not only acts as an antibacterial agent but also has many beneficial effects such as regulating intestinal flora and reducing inflammation (H Liu, Wang, et al., 2022 ).…”

“…It is noteworthy that the current transformation of DHM research results into an application is not satisfactory. Although invention patents about DHM have been issued in various countries, so far only one DHM capsule has been approved for the market in the United States, which was probably due to the low titer of DHM that has led to unsatisfactory drug effect when used alone (D Liu et al., 2019 ; J Shen et al., 2022 ). The combination of DHM and other drugs may be a promising strategy to expand the application of DHM.…”