Piceatannol: A natural stilbene for the prevention and treatment of cancer.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has documented that cancer is the second foremost reason for death worldwide. Various factors are responsible for cancer, for instance, exposure to different physical, chemical and biological carcinogens, infections, hereditary, poor dietary habits and lifestyle etc. Cancer is a preventable disease if detected at an early stage; however, most of the cases of cancer are diagnosed at an incurable advanced or metastatic stage. According to WHO about 70 % of deaths due to cancer occur in countries with low- or middle-income. The major problems associated with the conventional therapies are cancer recurrence, development of chemoresistance, affordability, late-stage diagnosis, adverse side effects and inaccessible treatment. Thus, there is an urgent need to find alternative treatment modalities, which have easy accessibility and are affordable with minimum side effects. In this article, we reviewed the natural stilbene known as "Piceatannol" for its anticancer properties. Numerous preclinical studies have reported the potential of Piceatannol to prevent or impede the growth of various cancers originating from different organs such as brain, breast, cervical, colon, liver, lung, prostate, skin, etc. The current review primarily emphasises on the insights of Piceatannol source, chemistry, and the molecular mechanisms involved in the regression of the tumor. This review supports Piceatannol as a potential anticancer and chemopreventive agent and suggests that it can be effectively employed as a capable anti-cancer drug.

Honokiol for cancer therapeutics: A traditional medicine that can modulate multiple oncogenic targets.

In spite of billions of dollars expended on cancer research every year, the incidence rate and the mortality rate due to this widespread disease has increased drastically over the last few decades. Recent reports from the World Health Organization advocate that overall global cancer burden and deaths due to cancer are expected to double by the next decade. Synthetic drugs developed as chemotherapeutics have repeatedly shown adverse side effects and development of chemoresistance. Cancer is basically a multifactorial disease that necessitates the modulation of multiple targets and oncogenic signaling pathways. Honokiol (C18H18O2) is a biphenolic natural compound isolated from the leaves and barks of Magnolia plant species and has been extensively studied for its beneficial effects against several chronic diseases. Honokiol is capable of efficiently preventing the growth of wide variety of tumors such as those of brain, breast, cervical, colon, liver, lung, prostate, skin, and hematological malignancies. Recent work has shown that this phytochemical can modulate various molecular targets such as activation of pro-apoptotic factors, suppression of anti-apoptotic proteins and different transcription factors, downregulation of various enzymes, chemokines, cell surface adhesion molecules, and cell cycle proteins, and inhibition of activity of protein tyrosine kinases and serine/threonine kinases. Because of its pharmacological safety, honokiol can either be used alone or in combination with other chemotherapeutic drugs for the prevention and treatment of cancer. The current review describes in detail the various reports supporting these anti-cancer studies documented with this promising agent.

Magnolol: A Neolignan from the Magnolia Family for the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer.

The past few decades have witnessed widespread research to challenge carcinogenesis; however, it remains one of the most important health concerns with the worst prognosis and diagnosis. Increasing lines of evidence clearly show that the rate of cancer incidence will increase in future and will create global havoc, designating it as an epidemic. Conventional chemotherapeutics and treatment with synthetic disciplines are often associated with adverse side effects and development of chemoresistance. Thus, discovering novel economic and patient friendly drugs that are safe and efficacious is warranted. Several natural compounds have proved their potential against this dreadful disease so far. Magnolol is a hydroxylated biphenyl isolated from the root and stem bark of Magnolia tree. Magnolol can efficiently prevent or inhibit the growth of various cancers originating from different organs such as brain, breast, cervical, colon, liver, lung, prostate, skin, etc. Considering these perspectives, the current review primarily focuses on the fascinating role of magnolol against various types of cancers, and the source and chemistry of magnolol and the molecular mechanism underlying the targets of magnolol are discussed. This review proposes magnolol as a suitable candidate that can be appropriately designed and established into a potent anti-cancer drug.