Abstract
In recent years, medicinal plants have attracted huge attention due to their diverse range of biological and therapeutic properties. Evidences have been accumulated since ages to demonstrate promising potential of medicinal plants used in various traditional, complementary, and alternative systems especially for cancer treatment. Although several medicines are available in the market to treat various types of cancers, no drug is found to be fully effective and safe as anticancer therapy. The major problem in the cancer chemotherapy is the prolonged toxicity of the well-established chemical drugs. However, plants and plant-derived products have been proved effective and safe in the treatment and management of various cancers to some extent. Many natural products and their analogs have been identified as potent anticancer agents, and anticancer properties of various plants or phytochemicals are being identified. Several plant-based anticancer agents including taxol, vinblastine, vincristine, camptothecin derivatives, topotecan, and irinotecan, as well as epipodophyllotoxins, are in clinical use all over the world. This review focuses on the application of medicinal plants and their phytochemicals as natural anticancer substances. In addition, this review will also discuss the Ayurvedic concept of using medicinal plants and their phytochemicals in traditional way for the treatment of various types of cancers. Further, a brief description will be given on the anticancer mode of action of various medicinal plants and their phytochemicals to understand the mechanisms at molecular level that alter growth and metabolism in cancer cells. Finally, this review will summarize the significance and innovative ways on using medicinal plants and their phytochemicals in anticancer therapy along with their future prospective in the treatment of cancer and related diseases.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agarwal BB, Kumar A, Bharti AC (2003) Anticancer potential of curcumin: preclinical and clinical studies. Anticancer Res 23:363–398
Aggarwal BB, Shishodia S (2006) Guggulsterone inhibits NF-kappa and lkappaBalpha kinase activation, suppresses expression of anti-apoptotic gene products, and enhances apoptosis. Biochem Pharmacol 71:1397–1421
Akerele O (1988) Medicinal plants and primary health care: an agenda for action. Fitoterapia 59:355–363
Balachandran P, Govindarajan R (2005) Cancer—an ayurvedic perspective. Pharmacol Res 51:19–30
Bermudez-Soto M, Larrosa M, Garcia-Cantalejo JM, Espin JC, Tomas-Barberan FA, Garcia-Conesa MT (2007) Up-regulation of tumor suppressor carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 in human colon cancer Caco-2 cells following repetitive exposure to dietary levels of a polyphenol-rich chokeberry juice. J Nutr Biochem 18:259–271
Bertino JR (1997) Irinotecan for colorectal cancer. Semin Oncol 24:S18–S23
Bloch AS (2000) Pushing the envelope of nutrition support: complementary therapies. Nutrition 16:236–239
Cao Y, Cao R (1999) Angiogenesis inhibited by drinking tea (letter to the editor). Nature 381:398
Chaudhary H, Arora R, Vora A, Jena PK, Seshadri S (2012) Evaluating the anti-cancer potential of hydro-alcoholic extract of Allium sativum L.: An in vitro and in vivo study. J Ethnobiol Trad Med 117:189–198
Chiampanichayakul S, Kataoka K, Arimochi H, Thumvijit S, Kuwahara T, Nakayama H, Vinitketkumnuen U, Ohnishi Y (2001) Inhibitory effects of bitter melon (Momordica charantia Linn.) on bacterial mutagenesis and aberrant crypt focus formation in the rat colon. J Med Invest 48:88–96
Cragg GM, Newman DJ (2005) Plants as a source of anticancer agents. J Ethanopharmacol 100:72–79
Creemers GJ, Bolis G, Gore M, Scarfone G, Lacave AJ, Guastalla JP, Despax R, Favalli G, Kreinberg R, VanBelle S, Hudson I, Verweij J, Huinink WWT (1996) Topotecan, an active drug in the second-line treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer: results of a large European phase II study. J Clin Oncol 14:3056–3061
Dateo GP, Long L (1973) Gymnemic acid, the antisaccharine principle of Gymnema sylvestre. Studies on the isolation and heterogeneity of gymnemic acid A1”. J Agric Food Chem 21:899–903
Dhanamani M, Devi SL, Kannan S (2011) Ethanomedicinal plants for cancer therapy—A review. Hygeia J D Med 3:1–10
Dixit S, Ali H (2010) Anticancer activity of medicinal plant extract—a review. Chem Chem Sci 1:79–85
Farnsworth NR, Akerele O, Bingel A, Soejarto DD, Guo Z (1985) Medicinal plants in therapy. Bull World Health Org 63:965–981
Foster S (2002) Gymnema sylvestre in alternative medicine reviews monographs. Thorne Res 20:205–207
Ganguly S (2014) Ayurveda for cancer therapy. World J Pharma Res 3:1476–1479
Hajiaghaalipour F, Kanthimathi MS, Sanusi J, Rajarajeswaran J (2015) White tea (Camellia sinensis) inhibits proliferation of the colon cancer cell line, HT-29, activates caspases and protects DNA of normal cells against oxidative damage. Food Chem 169:401–410
Han GL, Li CM, Mazza G, Yang XG (2005) Effect of anthocyanins rich fruit extract on PGE2 produced by endothelial cells. J Hyg Res 34:581–584
Harrison TR (1998) Principles of internal medicine, 14th edn. Mc Graw-Hill Book Company, New York
Shirzad H, Taji F, Rafieian-Kopaei M (2011) Correlation between antioxidant activity of garlic extracts and WEHI-164 fibrosarcoma tumor growth in BALB/c mice. J Med Food 14:969–974
Ho YC, Yang SF, Peng CY, Chou MY, Chang YC (2007) Epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibits the invasion of human oral cancer cells and decreases the productions of matrix metalloproteinases and urokinase-plasminogen activator. J Oral Pathol Med 36:588–593
Hu Z, Yang Y, Ho PC, Chan SY, Heng PW, Chan E, Duan W, Koh HL, Zhou S (2005) Herb-drug interactions: a literature review. Drugs 65:1239–1282
Hwang BY, Su BN, Chai H, Mi Q, Kardono LB, Afriastini JJ, Riswan S, Santarsiero BD, Mesecar AD, Wild R, Fairchild CR, Vite GD, Rose WC, Farnsworth NR, Cordell GA, Pezzuto JM, Swanson SM, Kinghorn AD (2004) Silvestrol and episilvestrol, potential anticancer rocaglate derivatives from Aglaia silvestris. J Org Chem 69:3350–3358
Itokawa H, Wang X, Lee KH (2005) Homoharringtonine and related compounds. In: Cragg GM, Kingston DGI, New-man D (eds) Anticancer agents from natural products. Brunner-Routledge Psychology Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, pp 47–70
Jain KS, Kathiravan MK, Somani RS, Shishoo CJ (2007) The biology and chemistry of hyperlipidemia. Bioorg Med Chem 15:4674–4699
Kantarjian HM, O’Brien S, Anderlini P, Talpaz M (1996) Treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia: current status and investigational options. Blood 87:3069–3081
Kam PCA, Liew S (2002) Traditional Chinese herbal medicine and anaesthesia. Anaesthesia 57:1083–1089
Kapoor LD (1990) Handbook of ayurvedic medicinal plants. CRC Press, Florida
Katiyar SK, Ahmad N, Mukhtar H (2000) Green tea and skin. Arch Dermatol 136:989–994
Kaushik R, Narayanan P, Vasudevan V, Muthukumaran G, Antony U (2010) Nutrient composition of cultivated Stevia leaves and the influence of polyphenols and plant pigments on sensory and antioxidant properties of leaf extracts. J Food Sci Technol 47:27–33
Khanna V, Kannabiran K (2009) Anticancer-cytotoxic activity of saponins isolated from the leaves of Gymnema sylvestre and Eclipta prostrata on HeLa cells. Int J Green Pharm 3:227–229
Kharb M, Jat RK, Gupta A (2012) A review on medicinal plants used as a source of anticancer agents. Int J Drug Res Technol 2:177–183
Khramov VA, Spasov AA, Samokhina MP (2008) Chemical composition of dry extracts of Gymnema sylvestre leaves. Pharm Chem J 42:30–32
Kumar RA, Rajkumar V, Guha G, Mathe L (2010) Therapeutic potentials of oroxylum indicum bark extracts. Chin J Nat Med 8:121–126
Lala G, Malik M, Zhao C, He J, Kwon Y, Giusti MM, Magnuson BA (2006) Anthocyanin-rich extracts inhibit multiple biomarkers of colon cancer in rats. Nut Cancer 5:84–93
Larkin T (1983) Herbs Are Often More Toxic Than Magical. FDA Consum. 17:4–11
Lee HS, Huang PL, Bourinbaiar AS, Chen HC, Kung HF (1995) Inhibition of the integrase of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 by anti-HIV plant proteins MAP30 and GAP31. Proc Nat Acad Sci 92:8818–8822
Lee CY, Sher HF, Chen HW, Liu CC, Chen CS, Lin CS, Yang PC, Tsay HS, Chen JJW (2008) Anticancer effects of tanshinone I in human non-small cell lung cancer. Mol Cancer Therap 7:3527
Li CJ, Tsang SF, Tsai CH, Tsai HY, Chyuan JH, Hsu HY (2012) Momordica charantia extract induces apoptosis in human cancer cells through caspase- and mitochondria-dependent pathways. Evid Based Comp Alt Med 12:261–271
Liu RH (2004) Potential synergy of phytochemicals in cancer prevention: mechanism of action. J Nutr 134:3479–3485
Liu CP, Tsai WJ, Lin YL, Liao JF, Chen CF, Kuo YC (2004) The extracts from Nelumbo nucifera suppress cell cycle progression, cytokine genes expression and cell proliferation in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Life Sci 75:699–716
Liu CM, Kao CL, Wu HM, Li WJ, Huang CT, Li HT, Chen CY (2014) Antioxidant and Anticancer Aporphine Alkaloids from the Leaves of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. cv. Rosa-plena. Molecules 19:17829–17838
Lotufo LVC, Khan MTH, Ather A, Wilke DV, Jimenez PC, Pessoa C (2005) Studies of the anticancer potential of plants used in Bangladeshi folk medicine. J Ethnopharmacol 99:21
Luo KW, Ko CH, Yue GG, Lee JK, Li KK, Lee M, Li G, Fung KP, Leung PC, Lau CB (2014) Green tea (Camellia sinensis) extract inhibits both the metastasis and osteolytic components of mammary cancer 4T1 lesions in mice. J Nutr Biochem 25:395–403
Malik M, Zhao C, Schoene N, Guisti MM, Moyer MP, Magnuson BA (2003) Anthocyanin rich extract from Aronia meloncarpa E. induces a cell cycle block in colon cancer but not normal colonic cells. Nut Cancer 46:186–196
Merina N, Chandra KJ, Jibon K (2012) Medicinal plants with potential anticancer activities: A Review. Int Res J Pharm 3:26–30
Mi Q, Cui B, Silva GL, Lantvit D, Reyes-Lim E, Chai H, Pezzuto JM, Kinghorn AD, Swanson SM, Pervilleine F (2003) A new tropane alkaloid aromatic ester that reverses the multidrug-resistance phenotype. Anticancer Res 23:3607–3616
Mouli KC, Vijaya T, Rao SD (2009) Phytoresources as potential therapeutic agents for cancer treatment and prevention. J Glob Pharm Technol 1:4–18
Nagasawa H, Watanabe K, Inatomi H (2002) Effects of bitter melon (Momordica charantia) or ginger rhizome (Zingiber offifinale Rosc.) on spontaneous mammary tumorigenesis in SHN mice. Am J Clin Med 30:195–205
Nakahara K, Onishi KM, Ono H, Yoshida M, Trakoontivakorn G (2001) Antimutagenic activity against trp-P-1 of the edible Thai Plant: Oroxylum indicum Vent. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 65:2358–2360
Narisa K, Jenny MW, Heather MAC (2006) Cytotoxic effect of four Thai edible plants on mammalian cell proliferation. Thai Pharm Health Sci J 1:189–195
Nishikawa T, Nakajima T, Moriguchi M, Jo M, Sekoguchi S, Ishii M (2006) A green tea polyphenol, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, induces apoptosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma, possibly through inhibition of Bcl-2 family proteins. J Hepatol 44:1074–1082
Ohgami K, Ilieva I, Shiratori K, Koyama Y, Xue-Hai J, Yoshida K, Kase S, Kitaichi N, Suzuki Y, Tanaka T, Ohno S (2005) Anti- inflammatory effects of Aronia extracts on rat endotoxin-induced uveitis. Invest Ophthamol Vis Sci 46:275–281
Parajuli P, Joshee N, Rimando AM, Mittal S, Yadav SK (2009) In vitro antitumor mechanisms of various Scutellaria extracts and constituent flavonoids. Planta Med 75:41
Parkin DM, Bray F, Ferlay J, Pisani P (2005) Global cancer statistics. CA Cancer J Clin 55:74–108
Patel B, Das S, Prakash R, Yasir M (2010) Natural bioactive compound with anticancer potential. Int J Adv Pharma Sci 1:32–41
Potmeisel M, Pinedo H (1995) Camptothecins: new anticancer agents. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 149–150
Powell RG, Weisleder D, Smith CR (1970) Structures of harringtonine, isoharringtonine, and homoharringtonine. Tetrahedron Lett 11:815–818
Prakash P, Gupta N (2005) Therapeutic uses of Ocimum sanctum Linn (Tulsi) with a note on eugenol and its pharmacological action. Ind J Physiol Pharmacol 49:125–131
Prakash O, Kumar A, Kumar P, Ajeet (2013) Anticancer potential of plants and natural products, A review. Am J Pharm Sci 1:104–115
Premalatha B, Rajgopal G (2005) Cancer-an ayurvedic perspective. Pharmacol Res 51:19–30
Rahman MM, Khan A (2013) Anti-cancer potential of South Asian plants. Nat Prod. Biopros 3:74–88
Rao GV, Kumar S, Islam M, Saber EM (2008) Folk medicines for anticancer therapy—a current status. Cancer Ther 6:913–922
Ray RB, Raychoudhuri A, Steele R (2010) Bitter melon (Momordica charantia) extract inhibits breast cancer cell proliferation by modulating cell cycle regulatory genes and promotes apoptosis. Cancer Res 70:1925–1931
Rowinsky EK, Onetto N, Canetta RM, Arbuck SG (1992) Taxol-the 1st of the texanes, an important new class of anti-tumor agents. Semin Oncol 19:646–662
Roy MK, Nakahara K, Na TV, Trakoontivakorn G, Takenaka M, Isobe S (2007) Baicalein, a flavonoid extracted from a methanolic extract of Oroxylum indicum inhibits proliferation of a cancer cell line in vitro via induction of apoptosis. A. Pharmazie 62:149–153
Russo M, Spagnuolo M, Tedesco I, Russo GL (2010) Toxins 2:517–551
Sabnis VD (2006) Chemistry and Pharmacology of Ayurvedic medicinal plants. Chaukhamba Amarabhati Publications, Varanasi
Sakarkar DM, Deshmukh VN (2011) Ethnopharmacological review of traditional medicinal plants for anti-cancer activity. Int J Pharm Technol Res 3:298–308
Saxe TG (1987) Toxicity of Medicinal Herbal Preparations. Am Fam Phys 35:135–142
Sharif T, Alhosin M, Auger C, Minker C, Kim JH (2012) Aronia melanocarpa juice induces a redox-sensitive p73-related caspase 3-dependent apoptosis in human leukemia cells. PLoS ONE 7: e32526. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032526
Shoeb M, MacManus SM, Jaspars M, Trevidadu J, Nahar L, Thoo-Lin PK, Sarker SD (2006) Montamine, a unique dimeric indole alkaloid, from the seeds of Centaurea montana (Asteraceae), and its in vitro cytotoxic activity against the CaCo2 colon cancer cells. Tetrahed 62:11172–11177
Singh RH (2002) An assessment of the ayurvedic concept of cancer and a new paradigm of anticancer treatment in Ayurveda. J Alt Comp Med 8:609–614
Sinsheimer JE, Rao GS, McIlhenny HM (1970) Constituents from Gymnema sylvestre leaves. V: isolation and preliminary characterization of the gymnemic acids. J Pharma Sci 59:622–628
Spinella F, Rosano L, Decandia S, Di CV, Albini A, Elia G, Natali PG, Bagnato A (2006a) Antitumor effect of green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate in ovarian carcinoma cells: evidence for the endothelin-1 as a potential target. Exp Biol Med 23:1123–1127
Spinella F, Rosano L, Di CV, Decandia S, Albini A, Nicotra MR, Natali PG, Bagnato A (2006b) Green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibits the endothelin axis and downstream signaling pathways in ovarian carcinoma. Mol Cancer Ther 5:1483–1492
Sueiro L, Yousef GG, Seigler D, Demejia EG, Grace MH, Lila (2006) Chemopreventive potential of flavonoid extracts from plantation-bred and wild Aronia melanocarpa (black chokeberry) fruits. J Food Sci 71:480–488
Surh YJ (2003) Cancer chemoprevention with dietary phytochemicals. Nat Rev Cancer 3:768–780
Tanaka S, Haruma K, Yoshihara M, Kajiyama G, Kira K, Amagase H, Chayama K (2006) Aged garlic extract has potential suppressive effect on colorectal adenomas in humans. J Nutr 136:821–826
Taylor JR, Wilt VM (1999) Probable antagonism of warfarin by green tea. Ann Pharmacother 33:426–428
Tepsuwan A, Furihata C, Rojanapo W, Matsuhima T (1992) Genotoxicity and cell proliferative acitivity of a nitrosated Oroxylum indicum Vent fraction in the pyloric mucosa of rat stomach. Mut Res 281:55
Thakore P, Mani RK, Singh J, Kavitha (2012) A brief review of plants having anti-cancer property. Int J Pharm Res Dev 3:129–136
Thakur RS, Puri HS, Husain A (1989) Major medicinal plants of india. CIMAP, Lucknow
Thani NAA, Keshavarz S, Lwaleed BA, Cooper AJ, Rooprai HK, (2014) Cytotoxicity of gemcitabine enhanced by polyphenolics from Aronia melanocarpa in pancreatic cancer cell line AsPC-1. J Clin Pathol doi:10.1136/jclinpath-2013-202075
Thomson M, Ali M (2003) Garlic (Allium sativum): a review of its potential use as an anti-cancer agent. Curr Cancer Drug Targets 3:67–81
Tiwari P, Mishra BN, Neelam SS (2014) Phytochemical and pharmacological properties of Gymnema sylvestre: an important medicinal plant. BioMed Res Int. 10.1155/2014/830285
Virmani OP, Srivastava GN, Singh P (1978) Catharanthus roseus—the tropical periwinkle. Ind Drugs 15:231–252
Wang X, Wei Y, Yuan S, Liu G, Lu Y, Zhang J, Wang W (2005) Potential anticancer activity of tanshinone II A against human breast cancer. Int J Cancer 116:799
Wani MC, Taylor HL, Wall ME, Coggon P, McPhail AT (1971) Plant anti-tumor agents. VI. The isolation and structure of taxol, a novel anti-leukemic and anti-tumor agent from Taxus brevifolia. J Am Chem Soc 93:2325–2327
Weng JR, Li YB, Chiu CF, Hu JL, Chiu SJ, Wu CY (2013) Cucurbitane triterpenoid from Momordica charantia induces apoptosis and autophagy in breast cancer cells, in Part, through peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ activation. Evid Based Comp Alt Med. doi: 10.1155/2013/93567
Widowati W, Mozef T, Risdian C, Yellianty Y (2013) Anticancer and free radical scavenging potency of Catharanthus roseus, Dendrophthoe petandra, Piper betle and Curcuma mangga extracts in breast cancer cell lines. Oxid Antioxid Med Sci 2:137–142
Yang CS, Wang ZY (1993) Tea and cancer. J Nat Cancer Inst 85:1038–1049
Yang MY, Chang YC, Chan KC, Lee YJ, Wang CJ (2011) Flavonoid-enriched extracts from Nelumbo nucifera leaves inhibits proliferation of breast cancer in vitro and in vivo. Eur J Integ Med 3:153–163
Yin X, Zhou J, Jie C, Xing D, Zhang Y (2004) Anticancer activity and mechanism of Scutellaria barbata extract on human lung cancer cell line A 549. Life Sci 17:2233
Yoon JS, Kim HM, Yadunandam AK, Kim NH, Jung HA, Choi JS, Kim CY, Kim GD (2013) Neferine isolated from Nelumbo nucifera enhances anti-cancer activities in Hep3B cells: molecular mechanisms of cell cycle arrest, ER stress induced apoptosis and anti-angiogenic response. Phytomedicine 15:1013–1022
Zahra TN, Emami SA, Asili J, Mirzaei A, Mousavi SH (2010) Analyzing cytotoxic and apoptogenic properties of Scutellaria litwinowii root extract on cancer cell lines. Available at http://ecam.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/nep214. (Accessed on July 22)
Zhang Y, Moriguchi T, Saito H, Nishiyama N (1998) Functional relationship between age-related immunodeficiency and learning deterioration. New Eur J Neurosci 10:3869–3875
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shukla, S., Mehta, A. Anticancer potential of medicinal plants and their phytochemicals: a review. Braz. J. Bot 38, 199–210 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-015-0135-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-015-0135-0