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Review
. 2021 Nov 26:12:781033.
doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.781033. eCollection 2021.

Alantolactone: A Natural Plant Extract as a Potential Therapeutic Agent for Cancer

Yuan Cai  1 , Kewa Gao  1 , Bi Peng  1 , Zhijie Xu  1   2   3 , Jinwu Peng  1   3 , Juanni Li  1 , Xi Chen  2   4 , Shuangshuang Zeng  2   4 , Kuan Hu  5 , Yuanliang Yan  4
Affiliations
Review

Alantolactone: A Natural Plant Extract as a Potential Therapeutic Agent for Cancer

Yuan Cai et al. Front Pharmacol. .

Abstract

Alantolactone (ALT) is a natural compound extracted from Chinese traditional medicine Inula helenium L. with therapeutic potential in the treatment of various diseases. Recently, in vitro and in vivo studies have indicated cytotoxic effects of ALT on various cancers, including liver cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, etc. The inhibitory effects of ALT depend on several cancer-associated signaling pathways and abnormal regulatory factors in cancer cells. Moreover, emerging studies have reported several promising strategies to enhance the oral bioavailability of ALT, such as combining ALT with other herbs and using ALT-entrapped nanostructured carriers. In this review, studies on the anti-tumor roles of ALT are mainly summarized, and the underlying molecular mechanisms of ALT exerting anticancer effects on cells investigated in animal-based studies are also discussed.

Keywords: Alantolactone; anticancer effects; cancer; regulatory factors; signaling pathways.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Overview of the cytotoxic effects of the natural compound Alantolactone on cancer research and therapy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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