Status and Challenges of Plant-Anticancer Compounds in Cancer Treatment

Abstract

Nowadays, cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in the world, which has been estimated to cause 9.9 million deaths in 2020. Conventional treatments for cancer commonly involve mono-chemotherapy or a combination of radiotherapy and mono-chemotherapy. However, the negative side effects of these approaches have been extensively reported and have prompted the search of new therapeutic drugs. In this context, scientific community started to look for innovative sources of anticancer compounds in natural sources, including traditional plants. Currently, numerous studies have evaluated the anticancer properties of natural compounds derived from plants, both in vitro and in vivo. In pre-clinical stages, some promising compounds could be mentioned, such as the sulforaphane or different phenolic compounds. On the other hand, some phytochemicals obtained positive results in clinical stages and were further approved for cancer treatment, such as vinca alkaloids or the paclitaxel. Nevertheless, these compounds are not exempt of limitations, such as low solubility, restricted effect on their own, negative side-effects, etc. This review aims to compile the information about the current phytochemicals used for cancer treatment and also promising candidates, main action mechanisms and also reported limitations. In this sense, some strategies to face the limitations have been considered, such as nano-based formulations to improve solubility or chemical modification to reduce toxicity. In conclusion, although more research is still necessary to develop more efficient and safe phytochemical drugs, more of these compounds might be used in future cancer therapies.

Targeting PI3K/Akt/mTOR Pathway by Different Flavonoids: A Cancer Chemopreventive Approach

“…In the modern world, these bioactive flavonoids are widely consumed as part of the diet or nutritional supplements [143,144]. However, low/limited biodisponibility has been an issue that significantly limits the clinical usage of these compounds as anticancer agents [145][146][147]. The poor bioavailability of these flavonoids is due to metabolism carried out by phase II enzymes, resulting in hydrophilic excretable conjugates.…”

Role of Phytonutrients in Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics Perspective in Curing Breast Cancer

“…Their quick metabolism, low solubility and permeability, and metabolic transformation are important limiting factors. Additionally, the poor biodistribution of the phytochemicals further challenges their clinical applications [145][146][147]. The exact molecular pathways and interactions with several signaling molecules involved in the biological activities of these phytochemicals are not completely understood yet [38].…”

Bioactive Essential Oils from Cuban Plants: An Inspiration to Drug Development

“…However, the negative side effects of these approaches have been extensively reported and have prompted the search for new therapeutic drugs. In this context, the scientific community started to look for innovative sources of anticancer compounds from natural sources [60]. In this sense, the oil from B. graveolens was active against the MCF-7 cancer cell line with an IC 50 < 50 µg/mL [27] and M. leucadendra oil displayed inhibition of the malignant cell lines 22 Rv1, MCF-7 and EFO-21 and resistant sublines such as MCF-7/Rap and MCF-7/4OHTAMO with IC 50 values ranging from 55 to 98 µg/mL [36].…”