Nature’s Green Potential: Anticancer Properties of Plants of the Euphorbiaceae Family
by
, , , and
Víctor Jiménez-González
1,*
,
Tomasz Kowalczyk
2,*
,
Janusz Piekarski
3,
Janusz Szemraj
4,
Patricia Rijo
5,6
and
Przemysław Sitarek
7
1
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Seville, 41012 Seville, Spain
2
Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Genetics, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Lodz, Poland
3
Department of Surgical Oncology, Medical University in Lodz, 93-513 Lodz, Poland
4
Department of Medical Biochemistry, Medical University of Lodz, 92-215 Lodz, Poland
5
CBIOS-Lusófona University’s Research Center for Biosciences and Health Technologies, 1749-024 Lisbon, Portugal
6
Instituto de Investigação do Medicamento (iMed.ULisboa), Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-003 Lisbon, Portugal
7
Department of Medical Biology, Medical University of Lodz, 90-151 Lodz, Poland
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Cancers 2024, 16(1), 114; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers16010114
Submission received: 20 November 2023
/
Revised: 17 December 2023
/
Accepted: 21 December 2023
/
Published: 25 December 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anticancer Drug Discovery Based on Natural Products: From Computational Approaches to Clinical Studies)
Simple Summary
Euphorbiaceae is a large family of flowering plants that includes a wide spectrum of useful plants, from edible plants to toxic and medicinal plants. They are cosmopolitan plants that have very different shapes, from little herbaceous plants to big trees and cactus-like forms. This review article focuses on the potential anticancer activity of extracts, isolated compounds, and nanoparticles generated from the plants of the Euphobiaceae family based on in vitro and in vivo experiments. Possible mechanisms of action are also discussed.
Abstract
The number of cancer cases will reach 24 million in 2040, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Current treatments for cancer are not effective and selective for most patients; for this reason, new anticancer drugs need to be developed and researched enough. There are potentially useful drugs for cancer isolated from plants that are being used in the clinic. Available information about phytochemistry, traditional uses, in vitro and in vivo experiments with plants, and pure compounds isolated from the Euphorbiaceae family indicates that this family of plants has the potential to develop anticancer drugs. This review examines selected species from the Euphorbiaceae family and their bioactive compounds that could have potential against different types of cancer cells. It reviews the activity of crude extracts, isolated compounds, and nanoparticles and the potential underlying mechanisms of action.
Keywords:
Euphorbiaceae family; in vitro; in vivo; anticancer; extracts; pure compounds; nanoparticles
