Anticancer properties and mechanisms of botanical derivatives

Abstract

Introduction: Medicinal plants and their highly valuable compounds are used worldwide as therapeutic interventions for the management of complex, multifactorial physiologic imbalances, and various other health problems including cancer. However, the characteristics of the active components and the precise mechanisms underlying beneficial effects of medicinal plants are largely unclear, which obstructs their progression to clinical trials and ultimately pharmacy. This integrative review presents critical and synthesized literature on the characteristics and mechanisms of anticancer plants and their derivatives. Method: Databases such as PubMed and Google Dataset were searched using key words related to the fields of botanical derivatives and cancer to identify articles that describe the anticancer properties and signal transduction pathways of medicinal plants and their derivatives. Furthermore, the Clinical Trial database was searched to find anticancer drugs that are derived from medicinal plants or natural sources. Publications using this search were gathered based on their relevance to anticancer botanical derivatives and summarized based on their results and significance. Results: Anticancer ingredients such as phenolic compounds, flavonoids and alkaloids are present in medicinal plants. These bioactive compounds modulate proliferative and apoptotic factors to prevent tumor growth. Botanical derivatives have been utilized as lead compounds for the development of new anticancer drugs. Several chemotherapy medicines derived from botanical leads have been approved by the FDA. The characteristics that impacted signal transduction pathways and pharmacological application of botanical derivatives are integrated and summarized. Conclusion: There are a variety of valuable plant-derived bioactive compounds with anticancer property. Signal cascades that are responsible for proliferation, cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and angiogenesis are implicated in the actions and effects of medicinal plants and their derivatives. It is expected that novel therapeutics derived from medicinal plants can be developed to treat patients with cancer.