Natural Product Applications in Anticancer Therapeutics

Natural products have long been a cornerstone of cancer drug discovery, yielding landmark therapies such as the vinca alkaloids, taxanes and camptothecins. These compounds, derived from plants, marine organisms and microbes, exert their effects through diverse mechanisms including microtubule destabilisation, topoisomerase inhibition, induction of programmed cell death and suppression of tumour vasculature. Recent advances in chemoproteomics, multi-omics profiling and genome editing have accelerated identification of novel bioactive scaffolds, while artificial intelligence and high-throughput screening platforms have sharpened target validation. There is growing emphasis on overcoming multidrug resistance by modulating key survival pathways or by combining natural products with standard chemotherapeutics. Formulation strategies such as nanoparticle encapsulation and prodrug design have improved solubility, bioavailability and tumour selectivity. In parallel, ethnobotanical surveys and region-specific phytochemical studies have expanded the repertoire of candidate leads, underscoring the global importance of biodiversity conservation for future anticancer innovation.

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Natural Product Applications in Anticancer Therapeutics publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in natural product applications in anticancer therapeutics across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Apoptosis: Programmed cell death characterised by chromatin condensation, membrane blebbing and caspase activation.

Cell-cycle arrest: The halting of cell division at specific checkpoints, often leading to DNA repair or programmed cell death.

IC₅₀: The concentration of a substance required to inhibit a defined biological process by 50% in vitro.

Phytochemical: A bioactive chemical compound produced by a plant, often with therapeutic potential.

Multidrug resistance: A phenotype in which cancer cells become resistant to a range of chemotherapeutic agents, frequently via overexpression of efflux transporters or altered target pathways.

References

1. Contribution of Sub-Saharan African medicinal plants to cancer research: Scientific basis 2013–2023. Pharmacological Research (2024).
2. The cytotoxic activities of the major diterpene extracted from Salvia multicaulis (Bardakosh) are mediated by the regulation of heat-shock response and fatty acid metabolism pathways in human leukemia cells. Phytomedicine (2024).
3. The use of African medicinal plants in cancer management. Frontiers in Pharmacology (2023).