Cytotoxic plants from the Indian subcontinent: promising reservoir of anticancer agents

Abstract

In recent decades, cancer has remained the leading cause of mortality globally. The increasing incidence of cancer and the rise in the mortality rate pose substantial challenges for effective management strategies. Currently, several chemotherapeutic agents, including cisplatin, doxorubicin, and gemcitabine, are routinely used as frontline treatment options for cancer. Although these agents exhibit initial efficacy during the early stages of tumor development, their widespread application in clinical settings is significantly limited by their lack of selectivity, high cost, and toxicity to normal tissues. Phytochemicals have been recognized as promising alternatives to address these limitations. Their remarkable anticancer efficacy is attributed to various distinct mechanisms. Additionally, they are cost-effective and relatively nontoxic, which represent a significant advantage over conventional treatment approaches. To date, only a few phytochemicals, including resveratrol, gingerol, curcumin, and epigallocatechin-3-gallate, have progressed to clinical application. However, the current array of these phytochemicals is inadequate to meet the increasing demand for novel medicines against cancer. Thus, ethnopharmacology has emerged as a promising avenue for discovering and developing novel anticancer drugs. Medicinal plants from the Indian subcontinent are a valuable resource of diverse phytochemicals, which have traditionally been used for treating several health conditions and diseases. However, the evaluation of potential of these phytochemicals as anticancer medicines has largely been limited to preliminary screening. Therefore, this review specifically explores potent anticancer plants native to the Indian subcontinent that are yet to undergo rigorous clinical validation. It includes 60 plants from 44 families and details their therapeutic targets in various malignant cancers. It also discusses the major challenges and potential prospects for their effective application in cancer treatment.