Anticancer Drug Development Based on Phytochemicals

Fruits, vegetables and spices form an integral part of daily diet. They have received a great deal of attention from researchers owing to their wide range of disease healing properties. The active components of these natural products contribute to their medicinal properties. Burden of cancer is on the rise and cancer is a major public health concern all over the world. Plant derived compounds or phytochemicals are stud with anti-cancer properties. They are known to be effective in cancer therapy as mechanism of action has been already explored. These plant products are advantageous as they act differentially on cancer cells without affecting the normal cells. There are various modalities of cancer treatment, of which chemotherapeutic drugs is quite popular. However the emerging problem of drug associated toxicity and drug resistance necessitates the development of newer improved anti-cancer drugs. Modifications of chemical structures and computer based modeling might lead to newer drug discovery, but potential of natural products cannot be ignored. Natural plant derived molecules may serve as templates for discovery of new drugs. They may offer a novel and non-toxic way of cancer therapy. A number of plant derived molecules are used as anti-tumor drugs or are undergoing preclinical or clinical trials. Therefore it is time to emphasize on the discovery of anti-tumor drugs based on plant derived molecules.