Unravelling the therapeutic potential of orchid plant against cancer

Abstract

Cancer is one of the deadly diseases all over the world which is defined as unregulated growth and division of the cells. Natural remedies, particularly derived from plants, were used to treat a range of illnesses for thousands of years, including cancer. Several orchid species have been reported as a cure to treat various types of cancers. Orchids are huge family of flower bearing plants. They are traditionally used in folk medicine for the cure of various infectious diseases and tumour. Many of bioactive compounds isolated from orchid plants such as Dendrobium longicornu Lindl., Dendrobium transparens, Rhyncostylish retusa , Vanda cristata, Anoectochilus formosanus etc. possess anticancer activities via modifying the biotransformation of potential carcinogens by xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes, alteration of hormone synthesis, inhibition of cancer cell proliferation, suppression of protein expression, impede of cell cycle and impairment of cell growth. In actual circumstances active constituents present in orchidaceae family are not so explored. So, in this review we covered the article published till 2022 using different electronic databases PubMed/ MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The present review highlights the orchid plant family and its bioactive constituents with anticancer activity via various signalling pathways, as well as their possible mechanisms of action. • Cancer is a spectrum of disorders thats can leads to death. • Several orchid plants have been reported to cure various types of cancers. • Many bioactive compounds isolated from orchid plants such as Dendrobium longicornu, Dendrobium transparens, Rhyncostylish retusa, Vanda cristata, Anoectochilus formosanus etc. possess anticancer activities. • They showed anticancer activity against various types of cancer cell line. • In this study, we reviewed several anticancer properties identified in orchid plants via various signalling pathways, as well as their possible mechanisms of action.