Title:Look Into My Onco-forest - Review of Plant Natural Products with
Anticancer Activity
Volume: 22
Issue: 11
Author(s): Izabela Michalak*Mirosława Püsküllüoğlu*
Affiliation:
- Department of Advanced Material Technologies, Faculty of Chemistry, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wrocław, Poland
- Department of Medical Affairs, Labcorp (Polska) Sp. z o.o., Warsaw, Poland
- Department of Clinical Oncology, Maria Sklodowska Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Cracow Branch, Kraków, Poland
Keywords:
Tree, Shrub, Extraction, Biologically active compounds, Cytotoxicity, Anticancer drugs.
Abstract: Cancer is a multistage process that numerous modalities including systemic treatment
can treat. About half of the molecules that have been approved in the last few decades count for
plant derivatives. This review presents the application of tree/shrub-derived biologically active
compounds as anticancer agents. Different parts of trees/shrubs - wood, bark, branches, roots,
leaves, needles, fruits, flowers, etc. - contain a wide variety of primary and secondary metabolites
that demonstrate anticancer properties. Special attention was paid to phenolics (phenolic acids and
polyphenols, including flavonoids and non-flavonoids (tannins, lignans, stilbenes)), essential oils,
and their main constituents such as terpenes/terpenoids, phytosterols, alkaloids, and many others.
The anticancer properties of these compounds are mainly attributed to their strong antioxidant properties.
In vitro experiments on various cancer cell lines revealed a cytotoxic effect of tree-derived
extracts. Mechanisms of anticancer action of the extracts are also listed. Examples of drugs that
successfully underwent clinical trials with well-established positions in the guidelines created by
oncological societies are provided. The review also focuses on directions for the future in the development
of anticancer agents derived from trees/shrubs. Applying biologically active compounds derived
from trees and shrubs as anticancer agents continuously seems promising in treating systemic
cancer.