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Review
. 2019 Sep 15:2019:6057837.
doi: 10.1155/2019/6057837. eCollection 2019.

Therapeutic Effects of Ten Commonly Used Chinese Herbs and Their Bioactive Compounds on Cancers

Wei Liu  1   2 , Binbin Yang  1   2 , Lu Yang  1   2 , Jasmine Kaur  2 , Calvin Jessop  2 , Rushdi Fadhil  2 , David Good  2   3 , Guoying Ni  2   4   5   6 , Xiaosong Liu  4   5   6 , Tamim Mosaiab  2 , Zhengjun Yi  1 , Ming Q Wei  2
Affiliations
Review

Therapeutic Effects of Ten Commonly Used Chinese Herbs and Their Bioactive Compounds on Cancers

Wei Liu et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. .

Abstract

Effective cancer therapy is one of the biggest global challenges. Conventional cancer therapies have been at the forefront of combating cancers, but more evidence showed considerable side effects, limiting their use. There are various new therapies in development, but combined approaches for treating cancer are much expected. Natural herbs had been traditionally in use for cancer therapy in most parts of the world. In this review, we have examined ten commonly used Chinese herbs that have, for centuries, shown effectiveness in treating cancers. They demonstrated the abilities to promote the apoptosis of cancer cells, inhibit their metastasis, activate the patient's anticancer immunity, and synergistically increase the efficacy of conventional chemotherapy and radiation therapy when used in combination. Clinical experiences had proved that these herbs and their bioactive compounds were effective against a plethora of cancers through a variety of mechanisms, effectively improving patients' quality of life without significant side effects. These advantages indicate that there are huge potentials in the development of Chinese herbs into cancer medicine as part of a promising, holistic cancer treatment modality.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Photo of an Oldenlandia diffusa plant, with leaves and flowers.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Photo of dry root Curcuma longa.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Photo of dry root Astragalus membranaceus slices.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Photo of dry root Panax ginseng.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Photo of Ganoderma lucidum.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Photo of dry root Angelica sinensis.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Photo of dry root Panax notoginseng.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Photo of a Scutellaria barbata D. Don plant, with leaves and flowers.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Photo of dry root licorice slices.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Photo of dry root Salvia miltiorrhiza.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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