Zoopharmacology: A Way to Discover New Cancer Treatments

Abstract

Zoopharmacognosy is the multidisciplinary approach of the self-medication behavior of many kinds of animals. Recent studies showed the presence of antitumoral secondary metabolites in some of the plants employed by animals and their use for the same therapeutic purposes in humans. Other related and sometimes confused term is Zootherapy, which consists on the employment of animal parts and/or their by-products such as toxins, venoms, etc., to treat different human ailments. Therefore, the aim of this work is to provide a brief insight for the use of Zoopharmacology (comprising Zoopharmacognosy and Zootherapy) as new paths to discover drugs studying animal behavior and/or using compounds derived from animals. This work is focused on the approaches related to cancer, in order to propose a new promising line of research to overcome multidrug resistance (MDR). This novel subject will encourage the use of new alternative prospective ways to find new medicines.

Keywords: zoopharmacology, zoopharmacognosy, zootherapy, cancer, multidrug resistance (MDR), collateral sensitivity, oncotherapy.

Figure 1

Zoopharmacology strategy involves drug development routes of (A) Zoopharmacognosy and (B) Zootherapy for anticancer drugs.

Figure 2

Scheme explains how the bioactive compounds provided by Zoopharmacognosy and Zootherapy drug development strategies can overcome MDR. The strategies involve the inhibition of transporters that expel the drugs and the hypersensitization of cancer-resistant cells. Abbreviation: D, Drug; MDR, MultiDrug Resistance.