Hidden in Plants-A Review of the Anticancer Potential of the Solanaceae Family in In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

Abstract

Many of the anticancer agents that are currently in use demonstrate severe side effects and encounter increasing resistance from the target cancer cells. Thus, despite significant advances in cancer therapy in recent decades, there is still a need to discover and develop new, alternative anticancer agents. The plant kingdom contains a range of phytochemicals that play important roles in the prevention and treatment of many diseases. The Solanaceae family is widely used in the treatment of various diseases, including cancer, due to its bioactive ingredient content. The purpose of this literature review is to highlight the antitumour activity of Solanaceae extracts-single isolated compounds and nanoparticles with extracts-and their synergistic effect with chemotherapeutic agents in various in vitro and in vivo cancer models. In addition, the biological properties of many plants of the Solanaceae family have not yet been investigated, which represents a challenge and an opportunity for future anticancer therapy.

Keywords: Solanaceae; anticancer potential; apoptosis; cytotoxic effect; in vitro and in vivo studies; plant extracts; pure compounds.

Figure 1

PRISMA flow diagram demonstrating the screening method for the article [32].

Figure 2

General scheme of the synthesis and application of nanoparticles in cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Figure 3

Selected examples of species from the Solanaceae family exhibiting anticancer activity, such as Solanum tuberosum, Capsicum annuum, Solanum melongena, Lycopersicon esulentum, Nicotiana tabacum, Datura stramonium and Lycium barbarum.

Figure 4

Schematic diagram presenting the potential anticancer effect of compounds from the Solanaceae family through the induction of apoptosis and the activation of signalling pathways in cancer cells (created using BioRender).