Plant-Based Anticancer Drug Development: Advancements and Hurdles

Abstract

In addition to the practices of the Chinese, Greeks and Romans, one of the oldest and best-known records of civilized medicine was described in the Egyptian ‘Ebers Papyrus’ (circa 1500 BCE), which documented over 700 drugs, mostly of plant origin [1]. Throughout different civilizations humans have relied on nature to accommodate their basic needs, not the least of which are medicines for the treatment of a wide spectrum of diseases from coughs and colds to parasitic infections and inflammation.