Anti-Cancer Constituents from Plants: A Brief Review

Abstract

Now-a-days, cancer is a major concern globally, for which a large number of deaths occur annually,
instead of the accessibility to various treatment options. Nevertheless, the latest treatment options are principally
conglomerate with many side effects. Consequently, the development of an effective and competent anticancer
therapy with the lower or minimum adverse or unwanted minor effect is the prime direction of research in the fields
of natural product chemistry, drug design, and drug discovery. Phytochemicals available in plants have already been
proven as prospective candidates in this regard. In general, phytochemicals are non-selective in their functions and
restricted due to their differential activity on cancer cells along with the normal cells. As a consequence, researchers
show their interest in isolating bioactive phytochemicals from nature with potent anticancer properties and generate
lead compounds based on the natural skeleton of a molecule as a synthetic approach. Several phytomolecules have
already been in existence for their in-vitro and in-vivo anticancer activities. This article deals with these lead
phytomolecules from fifty-two species belong to thirty-five families with their reported mechanisms of action on
nuclear and cellular factors involved in the treatment of carcinogenesis.