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Review
. 2022 May 6:12:866154.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.866154. eCollection 2022.

Research Advances on Anti-Cancer Natural Products

Meng Guo  1 , Jie Jin  1 , Dong Zhao  2 , Zheng Rong  1 , Lu-Qi Cao  2 , Ai-Hong Li  3 , Xiao-Ying Sun  1 , Li-Yi Jia  1 , Yin-Di Wang  1 , Ling Huang  1 , Yi-Heng Li  4 , Zhong-Jing He  4 , Long Li  2 , Rui-Kang Ma  2 , Yi-Fan Lv  2 , Ke-Ke Shao  2 , Hui-Ling Cao  1   2   3   4
Affiliations
Review

Research Advances on Anti-Cancer Natural Products

Meng Guo et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

Malignant tumors seriously threaten people's health and life worldwide. Natural products, with definite pharmacological effects and known chemical structures, present dual advantages of Chinese herbs and chemotherapeutic drug. Some of them exhibit favorable anti-cancer activity. Natural products were categorized into eight classes according to their chemical structures, including alkaloids, terpenoids and volatile oils, inorganic salts, phenylpropanoids, flavonoids and isoflavones, quinone, saponins and polysaccharides. The review focused on the latest advances in anti-cancer activity of representative natural products for every class. Additionally, anti-cancer molecular mechanism and derivatization of natural products were summarized in detail, which would provide new core structures and new insights for anti-cancer new drug development.

Keywords: anti-cancer; core structure; derivatization; molecular mechanism; natural product.

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Conflict of interest statement

Author A-HL is employed by Shaanxi Pharmaceutical Holding Group Co., LTD, China. Author H-LC previously acted as an advisor for Shaanxi Pharmaceutical Holding Group Co., LTD, China. The remaining 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
The structure of Alkaloid compounds. (A) Harringtonine. (B) Camptothecin. (C) Vincristine. (D) Matrine. (E) Evodiamine.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The structure of Terpenoids and Volatile oils. (A) Artemisinin. (B) Paclitaxel. (C) Triptolide.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The structure of Phenylpropanoid compound. Podophyllotoxin.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The structure of Flavonoids. (A) Genistein. (B) Apigenin.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The structure of Quinone compound. Emodin.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The structure of Camptothecin derivatives. (A) 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin. (B) Irinotecan.
Figure 7
Figure 7
The structure of Taxol derivatives. (A) Docetaxel. (B) Larotaxel. (C) Carbazitaxel. (D) C3-modified Paclitaxel derivative.
Figure 8
Figure 8
The structure of Matrine derivatives. (A)13-Alkylformate esters Matrine. (B) 13-Aromatic ester Matrine. (C) 14-arylmethyl Matrine. (D) Deoxymatrine. E. Glycyrrhetinic acid matrine complex.
Figure 9
Figure 9
The structure of Evodiamine derivatives. (A) 10-hydroxy Evodiamine. (B) 10-hydroxy-3-Cl-Evodiamine. (C) 10,14-NO2-Evodiamine. (D) 13-p-chlorbenzoyl Evodiamine. (E) 12-Cl-Evodiamine.
Figure 10
Figure 10
The structure of Apigenin derivatives. (A) Methyl etherified and brominated Apigenin derivative. (B) Apigenin 7-O-β-D-acetyl galactoside. (C) Apigenin derivative with leucine. (D) Apigenin derivative with alanine. (E) Apigenin derivative with valine. (F) 8-isoprene Apigenin.
Figure 11
Figure 11
The structure of Artemisinin derivatives. (A) Artemisinin-thymoquinone complex. (B) Cinnamic acid-dihydroartemisinin ester compound. (C) Synthesis of triphenylphosphine and Artemisinin. (D) New artemisinin ester.
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