Title:Anticancer Chemodiversity of Ranunculaceae Medicinal Plants: Molecular Mechanisms and Functions
Volume: 18
Issue: 1
Author(s): Da-Cheng Hao, Chun-Nian He, Jie Shen and Pei-Gen Xiao
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Ranunculaceae phytometabolites, Anticancer activity, Molecular mechanism, Genomics.
Abstract: The buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, comprising more than 2,200 species in at least 62 genera,
mostly herbs, has long been used in folk medicine and worldwide ethnomedicine since the beginning
of human civilization. Various medicinal phytometabolites have been found in Ranunculaceae
plants, many of which, such as alkaloids, terpenoids, saponins, and polysaccharides, have shown anticancer
activities in vitro and in vivo. Most concerns have been raised for two epiphany molecules, the
monoterpene thymoquinone and the isoquinoline alkaloid berberine. At least 17 genera have been enriched
with anti-cancer phytometabolites. Some Ranunculaceae phytometabolites induce the cell cycle
arrest and apoptosis of cancer cells or enhance immune activities, while others inhibit the proliferation,
invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis, or reverse the multi-drug resistance of cancer cells thereby regulating
all known hallmarks of cancer. These phytometabolites could exert their anti-cancer activities via
multiple signaling pathways. In addition, absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion/toxicity
properties and structure/activity relationships of some phytometabolites have been revealed assisting in
the early drug discovery and development pipelines. However, a comprehensive review of the molecular
mechanisms and functions of Ranunculaceae anti-cancer phytometabolites is lacking. Here, we
summarize the recent progress of the anti-cancer chemo- and pharmacological diversity of Ranunculaceae
medicinal plants, focusing on the emerging molecular machineries and functions of anti-cancer
phytometabolites. Gene expression profiling and relevant omics platforms (e.g. genomics, transcriptomics,
proteomics, and metabolomics) could reveal differential effects of phytometabolites on the
phenotypically heterogeneous cancer cells.
