• Special Issue Topic

    Plant Extracts as an Infinite Resource for New Anticancer Agents

    Submission Deadline: October 31, 2022

    Guest Editor

    Dr. Katrin Sak E-Mail

    NGO Praeventio, Tartu, Estonia

    Research Keywords: Phytochemicals; plant polyphenols; flavonoids; anticancer activities; interactions with classical cancer treatment modalities


    About the Special Issue

    Since a great success of screening program launched by the US National Cancer Institute in 1960 to identify new anticancer agents from plants that ultimately led to discovery of important chemotherapeutic drugs such as paclitaxel, vincristine and vinblastine, a huge number of studies have been conducted to isolate and characterize novel bioactive compounds from various plant extracts. Considering the very complex chemical structures of paclitaxel and vincristine, it has been even argued that they might never have been discovered without investigation into plants and pharmacological activities of their constituents. However, the expansion of combinatorial chemistry for drug discovery in the 1990s considerably declined the interest in plant products as a natural source of lead molecules for novel and more efficient cancer therapeutics. As a consequence, to date, only around 10% of approximately 250,000 higher plant species have been explored for their therapeutic potential against malignant disorders. On the other hand, chemotherapeutic drugs that were initially derived from plant products and introduced into clinical use several decades ago belong to the basic arsenal for fighting against cancer still today, affecting different molecular targets and ultimately leading to the death of cancer cells. This fact clearly suggests that a huge diversity of compounds biosynthesized by plants might hold some further promise and offer as-yet-undiscovered possibilities in combating malignancies, significantly raising the interest in plant-derived agents over the recent years. Therefore, papers about diverse anticancer properties of plant extracts and their bioactive components are welcomed to be submitted to this special issue, presenting structures of novel phytochemicals and unraveling their molecular mechanisms in different cancer models.

    Keywords: Plant extracts; Phytochemicals; Anticancer activities; Chemotherapeutic drugs; Apoptosis; Metastasis; Angiogenesis; Molecular mechanisms; Cellular signaling cascades

    Published Articles

    Open Access
    Original Article
    Cola rostrata K. Schum. constituents induce cytotoxicity through reactive oxygen species generation and mitochondrial membrane depolarisation
    Aim: While the traditional use of Cola rostrata in treating illnesses and diseases has not been reported, the presence of cytotoxic principles has been reported in phylogenetically and biogeograp [...] Read more.
    Babatunde E. Ajayi ... Amos A. Fatokun
    Published: December 28, 2023 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2023;4:1328–1344
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2023.00200
    View:1028
    Download:15
    Times Cited: 0
    Open Access
    Review
    Anticancer action of naturally occurring emodin for the controlling of cervical cancer
    One of the major causes of death on the globe is cancer. The fourth most frequent malignancy in women worldwide is cervical cancer. Several cancer patients are remaining incurable due to the emergen [...] Read more.
    Priyanka S. Lande ... Leena P. Joge
    Published: August 31, 2023 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2023;4:690–698
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2023.00161
    View:1103
    Download:28
    Open Access
    Systematic Review
    Anticancer of genus Syzygium: a systematic review
    Aim: One in eight fatalities globally are considered cancer-related. The need for cancer therapy is growing. Natural products continue to play a role in drug development, as up to 50% of authorized [...] Read more.
    Mahmoud Dogara Abdulrahman, Harmand A. Hama
    Published: April 27, 2023 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2023;4:273–293
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2023.00134
    View:1886
    Download:48
    Open Access
    Original Article
    A potent bioactive fraction against colon cancer from Plectranthus vettiveroides
    Aim: This study was designed to investigate the anticancer efficacy of the organic leaf extracts of the plant, Plectranthus vettiveroides (P. vettiveroides), and to analyze the molecular mechanism  [...] Read more.
    Faisal M. Athikkavil ... Smitha V. Bava
    Published: April 24, 2023 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2023;4:227–239
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2023.00131
    View:1553
    Download:27
    Open Access
    Review
    Ginnalin A and hamamelitannin: the unique gallotannins with promising anti-carcinogenic potential
    Tannins are secondary metabolites that belong to the family of polyphenolic compounds and have gained a huge interest among researchers due to their versatile therapeutic potential. After lignin, th [...] Read more.
    Rippin ... Anil K. Sharma
    Published: April 21, 2023 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2023;4:208–216
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2023.00129
    View:1311
    Download:21
    Open Access
    Original Article
    Enhancement of reactive oxygen species production in triple negative breast cancer cells treated with electric pulses and resveratrol
    Aim: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is difficult to treat since it lacks all the three most commonly targeted hormone receptors. Patients afflicted with TNBC are treated with platinum core  [...] Read more.
    Pragatheiswar Giri ... Raji Sundararajan
    Published: February 28, 2023 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2023;4:42–56
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2023.00122
    View:1223
    Download:32
    Open Access
    Systematic Review
    Crude extract of Ficus deltoidea Jack (FD) as a natural biological therapy
    Aim: This study shows how important it is to coordinate research on Ficus deltoidea Jack (FD) so that results from different sources can be compared directly and a scientific conclusion can be made. Methods: The author lo [...] Read more.
    Mahmoud Dogara Abdulrahman
    Published: February 28, 2023 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2023;4:57–88
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2023.00123
    View:1405
    Download:22
    Open Access
    Review
    Onosma L. as a source of anticancer agents: phytochemistry to mechanistic insight
    Onosma (O.) is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae with approximately 250 species widely dispersed in temperate, tropical, and subtropical areas. It is traditionally use [...] Read more.
    Ajay Kumar ... Satwinderjeet Kaur
    Published: October 31, 2022 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2022;3:719–733
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2022.00109
    View:1587
    Download:51
    Open Access
    Review
    Potential role of resveratrol and its nano-formulation as anti-cancer agent
    The uncontrolled and metastatic nature of cancer makes it worse and more unpredictable. Hence, many therapy and medication are used to control and treat cancer. However, apart from this, many medica [...] Read more.
    Akshay Kumar ... Dilpreet Singh
    Published: October 31, 2022 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2022;3:643–658
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2022.00105
    Open Access
    Perspective
    Anticancer action of plant products: changing stereotyped attitudes
    Compared to humans, plants can synthesize an extremely diverse array of chemical compounds, including phenolic acids, flavonoids, stilbenes, lignans, terpenoids, alkaloids, and many other types of s [...] Read more.
    Katrin Sak
    Published: August 15, 2022 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2022;3:423–427
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2022.00092
    View:1438
    Download:49