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Review
. 2022 Aug 6;27(15):5008.
doi: 10.3390/molecules27155008.

Traditional Medicinal Plants as a Source of Inspiration for Osteosarcoma Therapy

Liliya Kazantseva  1 , José Becerra  1   2   3 , Leonor Santos-Ruiz  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Traditional Medicinal Plants as a Source of Inspiration for Osteosarcoma Therapy

Liliya Kazantseva et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Osteosarcoma is one of the most common types of bone cancers among paediatric patients. Despite the advances made in surgery, chemo-, and radiotherapy, the mortality rate of metastatic osteosarcoma remains unchangeably high. The standard drug combination used to treat this bone cancer has remained the same for the last 20 years, and it produces many dangerous side effects. Through history, from ancient to modern times, nature has been a remarkable source of chemical diversity, used to alleviate human disease. The application of modern scientific technology to the study of natural products has identified many specific molecules with anti-cancer properties. This review describes the latest discovered anti-cancer compounds extracted from traditional medicinal plants, with a focus on osteosarcoma research, and on their cellular and molecular mechanisms of action. The presented compounds have proven to kill osteosarcoma cells by interfering with different pathways: apoptosis induction, stimulation of autophagy, generation of reactive oxygen species, etc. This wide variety of cellular targets confer natural products the potential to be used as chemotherapeutic drugs, and also the ability to act as sensitizers in drug combination treatments. The major hindrance for these molecules is low bioavailability. A problem that may be solved by chemical modification or nano-encapsulation.

Keywords: combination therapy; drug discovery; natural products; osteosarcoma; signaling pathway; traditional medicinal plants.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Oridonin in osteosarcoma inhibition.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Wogonin in osteosarcoma inhibition.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The chemical structure of oleuropein.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Evodiamine in osteosarcoma inhibition.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Parthenolide in osteosarcoma inhibition.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Shikonin in osteosarcoma inhibition.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Berberine in osteosarcoma inhibition.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Triptolide in osteosarcoma inhibition.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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