An Overview of the Bioactivity of Spontaneous Medicinal Plants Suitable for the Improvement of Lung Cancer Therapies
Lung cancer is the second cause of death in the world, being the most common type of cancer. Conventional therapies are not always recommended due to the particularities of patients. Thus, there is a need to develop new anticancer therapeutic agents. Medicinal plants constitute a source of bioactive...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Pharmaceutics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/17/3/336 |
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| author | Lidia-Ioana Virchea Adina Frum Cecilia Georgescu Bence Pecsenye Endre Máthé Monica Mironescu Mihai-Tudor Crăciunaș Maria Totan Ciprian Tănăsescu Felicia-Gabriela Gligor |
| author_facet | Lidia-Ioana Virchea Adina Frum Cecilia Georgescu Bence Pecsenye Endre Máthé Monica Mironescu Mihai-Tudor Crăciunaș Maria Totan Ciprian Tănăsescu Felicia-Gabriela Gligor |
| author_sort | Lidia-Ioana Virchea |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Lung cancer is the second cause of death in the world, being the most common type of cancer. Conventional therapies are not always recommended due to the particularities of patients. Thus, there is a need to develop new anticancer therapeutic agents. Medicinal plants constitute a source of bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential in lung cancer. The purpose of our narrative review is to evaluate and summarize the main studies on the cytotoxic effects of ten medicinal plants and their extracts, volatile oils, and bioactive compounds. We have also included studies that reported protective effects of these natural products against chemotherapy-induced toxicity. Studies were identified by assessing five databases using specific keywords. The investigated natural products possess cytotoxic effects on lung cancer cell cultures. Several mechanisms of action have been proposed including cell death by apoptosis, necrosis or autophagy, cell cycle arrest, the modulation of signaling pathways (PI3K/Akt and MAPK), the inhibition of migration, invasion and metastasis, antiangiogenesis, and targeting inflammation. Different bioactive compounds exhibit protective effects against chemotherapy-induced toxicity. Studies have shown promising results. To develop new therapeutic agents useful in treating lung cancer, the plants included in this review should be more deeply investigated to reveal their molecular mechanisms of action. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3a87b7ec14244fc5a3ff616e2b36e91a |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1999-4923 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pharmaceutics |
| spelling | doaj-art-3a87b7ec14244fc5a3ff616e2b36e91a2025-08-20T02:42:24ZengMDPI AGPharmaceutics1999-49232025-03-0117333610.3390/pharmaceutics17030336An Overview of the Bioactivity of Spontaneous Medicinal Plants Suitable for the Improvement of Lung Cancer TherapiesLidia-Ioana Virchea0Adina Frum1Cecilia Georgescu2Bence Pecsenye3Endre Máthé4Monica Mironescu5Mihai-Tudor Crăciunaș6Maria Totan7Ciprian Tănăsescu8Felicia-Gabriela Gligor9Faculty of Medicine, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Lucian Blaga Str. 2A, 550169 Sibiu, RomaniaFaculty of Medicine, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Lucian Blaga Str. 2A, 550169 Sibiu, RomaniaFaculty of Agriculture Sciences, Food Industry and Environmental Protection, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Dr. Ion Rațiu Str. 7-9, 550012 Sibiu, RomaniaInstitute of Nutrition Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, Böszörményi Str. 128, 4032 Debrecen, HungaryInstitute of Nutrition Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, Böszörményi Str. 128, 4032 Debrecen, HungaryFaculty of Agriculture Sciences, Food Industry and Environmental Protection, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Dr. Ion Rațiu Str. 7-9, 550012 Sibiu, RomaniaFaculty of Sciences, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Dr. Ion Rațiu Str. 5-7, 550012 Sibiu, RomaniaFaculty of Medicine, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Lucian Blaga Str. 2A, 550169 Sibiu, RomaniaFaculty of Medicine, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Lucian Blaga Str. 2A, 550169 Sibiu, RomaniaFaculty of Medicine, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Lucian Blaga Str. 2A, 550169 Sibiu, RomaniaLung cancer is the second cause of death in the world, being the most common type of cancer. Conventional therapies are not always recommended due to the particularities of patients. Thus, there is a need to develop new anticancer therapeutic agents. Medicinal plants constitute a source of bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential in lung cancer. The purpose of our narrative review is to evaluate and summarize the main studies on the cytotoxic effects of ten medicinal plants and their extracts, volatile oils, and bioactive compounds. We have also included studies that reported protective effects of these natural products against chemotherapy-induced toxicity. Studies were identified by assessing five databases using specific keywords. The investigated natural products possess cytotoxic effects on lung cancer cell cultures. Several mechanisms of action have been proposed including cell death by apoptosis, necrosis or autophagy, cell cycle arrest, the modulation of signaling pathways (PI3K/Akt and MAPK), the inhibition of migration, invasion and metastasis, antiangiogenesis, and targeting inflammation. Different bioactive compounds exhibit protective effects against chemotherapy-induced toxicity. Studies have shown promising results. To develop new therapeutic agents useful in treating lung cancer, the plants included in this review should be more deeply investigated to reveal their molecular mechanisms of action.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/17/3/336volatile oilsplant extractsbioactive compoundscancerbiological activitycytotoxicity |
| spellingShingle | Lidia-Ioana Virchea Adina Frum Cecilia Georgescu Bence Pecsenye Endre Máthé Monica Mironescu Mihai-Tudor Crăciunaș Maria Totan Ciprian Tănăsescu Felicia-Gabriela Gligor An Overview of the Bioactivity of Spontaneous Medicinal Plants Suitable for the Improvement of Lung Cancer Therapies Pharmaceutics volatile oils plant extracts bioactive compounds cancer biological activity cytotoxicity |
| title | An Overview of the Bioactivity of Spontaneous Medicinal Plants Suitable for the Improvement of Lung Cancer Therapies |
| title_full | An Overview of the Bioactivity of Spontaneous Medicinal Plants Suitable for the Improvement of Lung Cancer Therapies |
| title_fullStr | An Overview of the Bioactivity of Spontaneous Medicinal Plants Suitable for the Improvement of Lung Cancer Therapies |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Overview of the Bioactivity of Spontaneous Medicinal Plants Suitable for the Improvement of Lung Cancer Therapies |
| title_short | An Overview of the Bioactivity of Spontaneous Medicinal Plants Suitable for the Improvement of Lung Cancer Therapies |
| title_sort | overview of the bioactivity of spontaneous medicinal plants suitable for the improvement of lung cancer therapies |
| topic | volatile oils plant extracts bioactive compounds cancer biological activity cytotoxicity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/17/3/336 |
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