Chapter 10 - Recent advances in natural product-based anticancer agents

Abstract

Cancer has claimed the lives of millions of people around the world. The non-selective toxicity of current anticancer drugs and the increasing drug resistance of certain types of cancer are the major problems in the treatment of cancer. Affordability is another concern in cancer treatment. The number of new cases is expected to rise by double within the next two decades. Discovering new anticancer drugs with safe modes of action is thus urgently needed. Natural products have been well-known contributors to anticancer drugs. Among higher plants, species of Taxus, Vinca (Catharanthus), Camptotheca, Podophyllum, and Combretum are a few examples of successful plant sources of clinically used anticancer drugs. Further, some of the natural product-derived molecules like docetaxel, cabazitaxel, etoposide, teniposide, irinotecan, topotecan, vindesine, vinorelbine, epirubicin, idarubicin, eribulin, etc., are some of the successful clinical drugs. There are many more natural products or molecules of terrestrial/marine origin having potential anticancer activities. These are required to evaluate systematically and extensively to get another success story like many of the previous ones. This chapter describes the concise knowledge about cancer and detailed anticancer agents from different classes of phytochemicals like alkaloids, terpenoids, phenolics, steroids, and others. The mechanistic studies of active compounds and structure–activity relationship will also be highlighted.