Abstract
Alantolactone (ALT) is a natural compound extracted from Chinese traditional medicine Inula helenium L. with therapeutic potential in the treatment of various diseases. Recently, in vitro and in vivo studies have indicated cytotoxic effects of ALT on various cancers, including liver cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, etc. The inhibitory effects of ALT depend on several cancer-associated signaling pathways and abnormal regulatory factors in cancer cells. Moreover, emerging studies have reported several promising strategies to enhance the oral bioavailability of ALT, such as combining ALT with other herbs and using ALT-entrapped nanostructured carriers. In this review, studies on the anti-tumor roles of ALT are mainly summarized, and the underlying molecular mechanisms of ALT exerting anticancer effects on cells investigated in animal-based studies are also discussed.
Highlights
Cancer is characterized by a very high incidence rate and fatality rate, and seriously affects human health (Fidler et al, 2017)
Mitogen-activated protein kinases (p38 MAPK) and NF-κB signaling pathways are significantly attenuated by ALT, inhibiting cell viability and promoting cell apoptosis in lung cancer cell lines NCI-H1299 and Anip973 (Liu et al, 2019)
It has been found that ALT effectively induces cell apoptosis in both lung squamous carcinoma cells (SK-MES-1) and lung adenocarcinoma cells (NCI-H1299 and Anip973) and the cytotoxic influence of ALT is closely related to the improved treatment efficacy and prognosis of patients with lung cancer (Zhao et al, 2015; Liu et al, 2019)
Summary
Cancer is characterized by a very high incidence rate and fatality rate, and seriously affects human health (Fidler et al, 2017). Alantolactone (ALT), a natural herb compound derived from the traditional Chinese medicinal Inula helenium L., has attracted extensive research attention because of the therapeutic potential in cancer treatment (Mi et al, 2014). Mitogen-activated protein kinases (p38 MAPK) and NF-κB signaling pathways are significantly attenuated by ALT, inhibiting cell viability and promoting cell apoptosis in lung cancer cell lines NCI-H1299 and Anip973 (Liu et al, 2019). The findings regarding the antagonistic effects of ALT in various cancers are summarized, and the underlying mechanism of ALT anticancer activity is explored (Figure 1, Tables 1, 2). To explore the practical values of ALT in future clinical applications, the safety and efficacy of ALT are discussed
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