Natural Products as Promising Therapeutic Agents in Cancer Management.
Abstract
Natural products have historically served as an indispensable source of anticancer agents and continue to inspire the development of novel therapeutics for cancer management. Despite significant advances in chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapies, treatmentassociated toxicity, multidrug resistance, tumour heterogeneity, and limited long-term efficacy remain major clinical challenges. Consequently, increasing attention has been directed towards bioactive natural compounds because of their structural diversity, multi-target pharmacological activities, and relatively favourable safety profiles. This review comprehensively summarizes the therapeutic potential of major classes of natural products, including alkaloids, polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, polysaccharides, and other phytochemicals, highlighting their molecular mechanisms against multiple hallmarks of cancer. Representative compounds such as paclitaxel, camptothecin, curcumin, resveratrol, capsaicin, and several naturally derived polysaccharides are discussed with emphasis on apoptosis induction, inhibition of angiogenesis and metastasis, modulation of oxidative stress, immune regulation, autophagy, and suppression of oncogenic signalling pathways including PI3K/Akt/mTOR, NF-κB, MAPK, STAT3, Wnt/β-catenin, and p53 pathways. Furthermore, this review critically evaluates current limitations that hinder clinical translation, including poor aqueous solubility, limited oral bioavailability, rapid metabolism, pharmacokinetic variability, manufacturing challenges, and herb-drug interactions. Emerging strategies such as nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems, structural modification, combination therapy, and precision medicine approaches are highlighted as promising solutions to improve therapeutic efficacy. Unlike previous descriptive reviews, the present article integrates mechanistic insights, preclinical evidence, clinical developments, and translational perspectives while identifying current research gaps and future opportunities for natural product-based anticancer drug discovery. Overall, natural products remain promising therapeutic candidates whose successful clinical implementation will require rigorous pharmacological validation, standardized formulations, well-designed clinical trials, and multidisciplinary collaboration.