ANTI-CANCER AGENTS DERIVED FROM PLANT AND DIETARY SOURCES: A REVIEW

Cancer is a disease of deregulated cellular behavior. Acquisition of oncogenic attributes, loss of tumor suppressive functions, evasion of physiological tissue architecture and interactions with the cellular microenvironment enable malignant cells to escape the mechanisms of normal cellular homeostasis in an organism. Cancer cells are therefore able to sustain unlimited proliferation, to thrive under conditions that preclude normal cell survival, and to spread to distant sites through the process of metastasis. Natural products are important sources of new anticancer 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, paclitaxel, etoposide, camptothecin, topotecan, and irinotecan). Beside this there are numerous agents identified from fruits and vegetables can use 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 an excellent opportunity to evaluate not only new chemical classes of anticancer agents but also novel lead compound and potentially relevant mechanisms of action.