Phytochemicals as Potential Anticancer Drugs: Time to Ponder Nature’s Bounty

Table 1

Known phytochemicals, their source, and therapeutic use.

Phytochemical	Source	Therapeutic use	Reference
5-Fluorouracil	Withania somnifera	Human cervical cancer cell	[29]
Vindesine	Catharanthus roseus	Leukemias, testicular, breast and lung cancer	[30]
Vincristine	Catharanthus roseus	Lymphocytic leukemia	[30]
Vinblastine	Catharanthus roseus	Lymphocytic leukemia	[30]
Colchicine	Colchicum autumnale	Multiple solid tumors	[31]
Larotaxel	Taxus baccata	Breast, bladder, and pancreatic cancer	[32]
Cabazitaxel	Taxus baccata	Prostate cancer	[33]
Paclitaxel	Taxus brevifolia	Breast and ovarian cancer	[30]
Bullatacin	Annona squamosa	Liver cancer	[34]
Bryophyllin A	Bryophyllum pinnatum	Cervical cancer	[35]
Harmine	Peganum harmala	Breast cancer	[36]
Artemisinin	Artemisia annua	Liver, breast, and pancreatic cancer	[37]
Tannins	Debregeasia saeneb	Internal tumors	[38]
Theabrownin	Camellia sinensis	Lung cancer	[39]
Solamargine	Solanum nigrum	Breast, liver, lung, and skin cancer	[40]
Psoralidin	Psoralea corylifolia	Stomach and prostate cancer	[41]
Xanthatin	Xanthium strumarium	Lymphocytic leukemia and liver cancer	[42]
Thymoquinone	Nigella sativa	Colon, prostate, breast, and pancreas cancer	[43]
Kaempferol galactoside	Bauhinia variegata	Breast, lung, and liver cancer	[43]
Withaferin A, D	Withania somnifera	Breast, cervix, prostate, and colon cancer	[44]
Ginger	Zingiber officinale	Ovary, cervix, colon, liver, and urinary caner	[45]
Silibinin	Sylibum marianum	Lung, liver, skin, colon, and prostate cancer	[46]
Luteolin	Capsicum annuum	Colorectal cancer	[47]
Colchicine	Colchicum autumnale	Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic granulocytic leukemia	[48]
Skimmianine	Aegle marmelos	Liver cancer	[49]
Boswellic acid	Boswellia serrata	Prostate cancer	[50]
Silymarin	Sylibum marianum	Colorectal cancer and colon cancer	[51]
Curcumin	Curcuma longa	Colon adenocarcinoma	[52]
Podophyllotoxin	Podophyllum peltatum	Non-small-cell lung carcinoma	[53]
Andrographolide	Andrographis paniculata	Colon cancer	[47]
Podophyllotoxin	Podophyllum hexandrum	Breast, ovary, lung, liver, bladder, and testis cancer	[54]
Betulinic acid	Betula utilis	Melanomas	[55]
Panaxadiol	Panax ginseng	Human colon cancer	[56]
Gossypol	Gossypium hirsutum	Colorectal cancer	[57]
Chrysin	Passiflora caerulea	Colorectal cancer	[58]
Plumbagin	Plumbago zeylanica	Liver, fibrosarcoma, leukemia, and breast cancer	[59]
6-Shogaol	Zingiber officinale	Ovary cancer	[60]
Curcumin	Curcuma longa	Breast, lung, colon, prostate esophagus, liver, and skin cancer	[61]
Ursolic acid	Oldenlandia diffusa	Lungs, ovary, uterus, stomach, liver, colon, rectum, and brain cancer	[62]
Isoliquiritigenin	Glycyrrhiza uralensis	Human lung cancer	[63]
Punarnavine	Boerrhavia diffusa	Malignant melanoma cancer	[64]
Procyanidins	Vitis vinifera	Human colon cancer	[65]
Resveratrol	Polygonum cuspidatum	Colorectal, skin, and liver cancer	[66]
Damnacanthal	Morinda citrifolia	Lung cancer, sarcomas	[67]
Gossypol	Gossypium hirsutum	Breast, stomach, liver, prostate, and bladder cancer	[68]
Niazinine A	Moringa oliefera	Blood cancer	[69]
Amooranin	Amoora rohituka	Lymphocytic leukemia	[70]
Betulinic acid	Ziziphus rugosa	Cytotoxicity against human melanoma cells	[71]
Asiatic acid	Centella asiatica	Melanoma, glioblastoma, breast cancer	[72]
Gallic acid	Leea indica	Ehrlich ascites carcinoma	[73]
Combretastatins	Combretum caffrum	Colon, leukemia, and lung cancer	[74]
Lycopene	Solanum lycopersicum	Prostate and colon cancer	[75]
Plumbagin	Plumbago zeylanica	Blood and skin cancer	[76]
Cannabinoid	Cannabis sativa	Lung, pancreas, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer	[77]
Silymarin	Sylibum marianum	Colorectal cancer	[78]
Tylophorine	Tylophora indica	Breast cancer	[74]
Saffron	Saffron crocus	Liver, lung cancer and pancreatic cancer	[79]
nab-paclitaxel	Taxus brevifolia	Ovarian and breast cancer	[80]
Cyanidin	Vitis vinifera	Colon cancer	[81]
Actein	Actaea racemosa	Liver and breast cancer	[82]
Betulinic acid	Betula Sp.	Human melanoma xenografts and leukemia	[30]
Allin	Allium sativum	Carcinoma of human mammary gland	[83]
Neferine	Nelumbo nucifera	Liver cancer	[84]
Calcaelin	Calvatia caelata	Breast and spleen cancer cells	[85]
Lentinan	Lentinus edodes	Sarcoma-180 in mice	[86]
Schizophyllan	Schizophyllum commune	Head and neck cancer	[87]
Apigenin	Matricaria chamomilla	Colorectal cancer	[88]
Vitex	Vitex agnus-castu	Human uterine, ovarian, cervical, and breast cancer	[89]