Abstract
Cancer remains a major life-threatening disease worldwide. The development of anticancer drugs using natural products obtained from marine organisms has been proposed as an alternative approach. Seaweeds are the mainstay of marine ecosystems; therefore, they are highly enriched with diverse bioactive compounds. In the past decade, a vast number of natural compounds, such as polysaccharides, polyphenols, carotenoids, and terpenoids, have been isolated from seaweeds. Seaweeds have bioactive compounds that show cytotoxicity in various cancer cell lines. These compounds prevent tumor growth by inducing apoptotic cell death and arrest growth by interfering with different kinases and cell cycle pathways. This review discussed the anticancer properties of various bioactive compounds isolated from different types of seaweeds and their therapeutic potential against cancers.
Highlights
Cancers are serious life-threatening diseases and are regarded as a major public health problem worldwide
Anticancer compounds from seaweeds can induce cancer cell death via various signaling pathways and mechanisms [8]
This review described the anticancer activities and molecular mechanisms underlying the activities of natural seaweed products against various cancers
Summary
Cancers are serious life-threatening diseases and are regarded as a major public health problem worldwide. Anticancer compounds from seaweeds can induce cancer cell death via various signaling pathways and mechanisms [8]. These characteristics of natural products from seaweeds can prevent resistance or tolerance of cancer cells. Fucoidan from seaweeds can act as an anticancer agent through various signaling pathways, including cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and anti-angiogenesis by inhibiting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) formation, and natural killer (NK) cell activation [9,10]. Laminarin (1) from the Laminaria difitata showed anticancer effects against ovarian cells by inducing apoptosis signaling and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and altering the ER–mitochondria axis [28]. Ascophyllan extracted from Ascophyllum nodosum inhibited U937 lymphoma growth by inducing DNA fragmentation and eventually apoptosis
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