Perspectives on natural compounds in chemoprevention and treatment of cancer: an update with new promising compounds (original) (raw)
Related papers
Perspectives for Cancer Prevention With Natural Compounds
Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2009
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Despite the estimated 565,650 deaths in 2008 of Americans as a result of cancer, it is mostly a preventable disease. Simply by modification of diet, maintenance of optimum body weight, and regular physical activity, 30% to 40% of all instances of cancer could be prevented. Modification of diet alone by increasing vegetable and fruit intake could prevent 20% or more of all cases of cancer and may potentially prevent approximately 200,000 cancer-related deaths annually. Because of their safety, low toxicity, antioxidant properties, and general acceptance as dietary supplements, fruits, vegetables, and other dietary elements (phytochemicals and minerals) are being investigated for the prevention of cancer. Extensive research over the past several decades has identified numerous dietary and botanical natural compounds that have chemopreventive potential. In this review, we discuss promising natural chemopreventive compounds, their molecular targets, and their mechanisms, which may help the further design and conduct of preclinical and clinical trials.
Cancer Chemoprevention by Natural Products: How Far Have We Come?
Pharmaceutical Research, 2010
Since ancient times, natural products, herbs and spices have been used for preventing several diseases, including cancer. The term chemoprevention was coined in the late 1970s and referred to the prevention of cancer by selective use of phytochemicals or their analogs. The field utilizes experimental carcinogenesis models to examine the efficacy of chemopreventive agents in a stage-specific manner. The concept of using naturally derived chemicals as potential chemopreventive agents has advanced the field dramatically. Throughout the years, a vast number of chemopreventive agents present in natural products have been evaluated using various experimental models. A number of them have progressed to early clinical trials. More recently, the focus has been directed towards molecular targeting of chemopreventive agents to identify mechanism(s) of action of these newly discovered bioactive compounds. Moreover, it has been recognized that single agents may not always be sufficient to provide chemopreventive efficacy, and, therefore, the new concept of combination chemoprevention by multiple agents or by the consumption of "whole foods" has become an increasingly attractive area of study. Novel technologies, such as nanotechnology, along with a better understanding of cancer stem cells, are certain to continue the advancement of the field of cancer chemoprevention in years to come.
Anti-cancer potential of natural products: recent trends, scope and relevance
Anti-cancer potential of natural products: recent trends, scope and relevance, 2020
Disease can occur due to alterations in many physiological processes. A variety of factorsare known to be involved in the progression of cancer, a chronic diseasethat occurs due to permissible proliferative signaling, avoiding growth suppressors, resisting cell death, allowing replicative immortality, induction of angiogenesis, and inducing invasion and metastasis, along with reprogramming of metabolic pathways involved in energy production and avoiding the host immune response for cell destruction. Treatment of such a multifactorial disease has very less cure rate because of the singular agents tried in the past for targeting. Molecular level studies with deeper insight are urgently neededthat focus on the most promising herbal-derived bioactive substances for which thorough research was carried out in the literature in various databases such as PUB-MED, MEDLINE, SCOPUS indexed journals etc. to look for systematic reviews of the protocols or data interpretation, natural drug/immunological properties and validation. As immune system plays avery important role in the proliferation or suppression of cancer and other autoimmune diseases, It is the dire need to study the effect of such natural compound on the immune system so that a possible drug target or epitope can be identified for the treatment of such diseases. In nutshell there are many nonclinical in vitro and in vivo studies on herbal medicines which commonly supports the traditional therapeutic claims. It has been seen from the previos studies in literature that the yield and composition of bioactive compounds derived from plants are dependent upon the production source,culturing conditions and extraction protocols.Therefore appropriate optimization conditions would certainly assist the medical and scientific fraternity to accept herbal products as potential candidates for cancer treatment. In this article we explored the different natural products, their immunological effects concerning cancer with no or negligible side effects. However,one has to look for potential herb-drug or herb-epitope interactions and how immune system responds to such drugs.
Alternative medicine review : a journal of clinical therapeutic, 2001
This paper is the second of a series examining the use of nutritional supplements as chemopreventive agents. The animal and in vitro data are reviewed in support of their use. Human safety data and mechanisms of action are described as well. Many over-the-counter dietary supplements have been shown to have significant chemopreventive activity in preclinical studies. Few side effects are associated with even long-term use of these agents. Along with dietary and lifestyle risk-reducing strategies, nutritional supplementation appears to be a viable intervention for those considered to be at high risk of developing cancer.
Cancer remains to be one of the leading causes of death in the United States and around the world. The advent of modern drug-targeted therapies has undeniably improved cancer patients' cares. However, advanced metastasized cancer remains untreatable. Hence, continued searching for a safer and more effective chemoprevention and treatment is clearly needed for the improvement of the efficiency and to lower the treatment cost for cancer care. Cancer chemoprevention with natural phytochemical compounds is an emerging strategy to prevent, impede, delay, or cure cancer. This review summarizes the latest research in cancer chemoprevention and treatment using the bioactive components from natural plants. Relevant molecular mechanisms involved in the pharmacological effects of these phytochemicals are discussed. Pharmaceutical developmental challenges and opportunities in bringing the phytochemicals into the market are also explored. The authors wish to expand this research area not only for their scientific soundness, but also for their potential druggability.
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry, 2012
Cancer remains to be one of the leading causes of death in the United States and around the world. The advent of modern drug-targeted therapies has undeniably improved cancer patients' cares. However, advanced metastasized cancer remains untreatable. Hence, continued searching for a safer and more effective chemoprevention and treatment is clearly needed for the improvement of the efficiency and to lower the treatment cost for cancer care. Cancer chemoprevention with natural phytochemical compounds is an emerging strategy to prevent, impede, delay, or cure cancer. This review summarizes the latest research in cancer chemoprevention and treatment using the bioactive components from natural plants. Relevant molecular mechanisms involved in the pharmacological effects of these phytochemicals are discussed. Pharmaceutical developmental challenges and opportunities in bringing the phytochemicals into the market are also explored. The authors wish to expand this research area not only for their scientific soundness, but also for their potential druggability.
Natural compounds for cancer treatment and prevention
Pharmacological …, 2009
We describe here the main natural compounds used in cancer therapy and prevention, the historical aspects of their application and pharmacognosy. Two major applications of these compounds are described: as cancer therapeutics and as chemopreventive compounds. Both natural compounds, extracted from plants or animals or produced by microbes (antibiotics), and synthetic compounds, derived from natural prototype structures, are being used. We also focus on the molecular aspects of interactions with their recognized cellular targets, from DNA to microtubules. Some critical aspects of current cancer chemotherapy are also discussed, focusing on genetics and genomics, and the recent revolutionary theory of cancer: aneuploidy as the primum movens of cancer.
Natural sources as potential anti-cancer agents: A review
Natural products remain an important source of new drugs, new drug leads and new chemical entities. The plant based drug discovery resulted mainly in the development of anticancer agents including plants (vincristine, vinblastine, etoposide, paclitaxel, camptothecin, topotecan and irinotecan), marine organisms (citarabine, aplidine and dolastatin 10) and microorganisms (dactinomycin, bleomycin and doxorubicin). Beside this there is numerous agents identified from fruits and vegetables can used in anticancer therapy. The agents include curcumin (turmeric), resveratrol (red grapes, peanuts and berries), genistein (soybean), diallyl sulfide (allium), S-allyl cysteine (allium), allicin (garlic), lycopene (tomato), capsaicin (red chilli), diosgenin (fenugreek), 6-gingerol (ginger), ellagic acid (pomegranate), ursolic acid (apple, pears, prunes), silymarin (milk thistle), anethol (anise, camphor, and fennel), catechins (green tea), eugenol (cloves), indole-3-carbinol (cruciferous vegetables), limonene (citrus fruits), beta carotene (carrots), and dietary fiber. In this review active principle derived from natural products are offering a great opportunity to evaluate not only totally new chemical classes of anticancer agents, but also novel lead compound and potentially relevant mechanisms of action.
Cancer is a leading cause of disease burden throughout the world. Many cancers develop as a result of exposure to both lifestyle and environmental factors that are potentially modifiable. In the last few years, much of the scientific attention has drawn to the discovery of new and effective chemopreventive agents from natural sources. A multitude of phytoconstituents have been explored for their potential to prevent the occurrence of carcinogenesis both in vitro and in vivo by means of diverse cellular and molecular approaches. Key focus of this review is to highlight some significant and new information about different molecular aspects of chemopreventive ability of plant based phytochemicals in terms of their inhibitory potential on cancer growth. In addition, information regarding certain limiting factors such as whole animal physiology, tumour microenvironment and bioavailability of active components of phytoconstituents used in pre/clinical trials are further explored. This review would further assist the scientific community involved in designing efficacious chemopreventive approaches using these phytochemicals in treating cancer.