Advances of ginsenosides in anticancer activities / 医学研究生学报

ABSTRACT

Cancer, a group of various diseases involving unregulated cell growth, still imposes a global threat to public health. Ginseng plants, which contains a wide variety of saponins, known as ginsenosides, is an age-old remedy for human ailments, including cancer.This review sheds light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the cancer chemopreventive and/or chemotherapeutic activity of ginsenosides and their metabolites with particular focus on the modulation of cell signaling pathways associated with cell proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, oxidative stress, inflammation and the metastasis of cancer cells.The review could enhance the understanding of the anticancer mechanisms of ginsenosides, provide directions for clinical practice and give more information for developing novel an-ticancer agents with high efficiency, low toxicity and weak resistance.