Anti-cancer Effect and Mechanism of Chinese Herbal Medicine Saponins： A Review
10.13422/j.cnki.syfjx.20240426
- VernacularTitle:中药皂苷类成分的抗癌作用及机制研究进展
- Author:
Mingtao ZHU
1
;
Yanpin SUN
1
;
Yimeng WANG
1
;
Haodong BAI
1
;
Bingyou YANG
1
;
Qiuhong WANG
2
;
Haixue KUANG
1
Author Information
1. Key Laboratory of Basic and Application Research of North Medicine， Ministry of Education， Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine， Harbin 150046， China
2. College of Traditional Chinese Medicine， Guangdong Pharmaceutical University， Guangzhou 510000， China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
cancer;
Chinese herbal medicine saponins;
mechanism of action;
signaling pathway;
research progress
- From:
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae
2024;30(10):236-245
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Cancer， one of the deadliest diseases caused by cells escaping homeostasis， abnormal proliferation， and abnormal differentiation， is fast becoming one of the most burdensome diseases of this century. With decades of human research and cognitive changes in cancer， cancer treatment is also developing rapidly， but there is still a lack of effective treatment and countermeasures. Especially， the search for safe， efficient， and non-toxic drugs has become a long-term goal in the field of cancer. Saponins extracted and separated from traditional Chinese medicine can improve cancer through various pathways and have almost no toxic side effects. Therefore， the research on the anti-cancer effect of saponins is heating up. It is found that saponins play anti-tumor roles by inhibiting proliferation， metastasis， and angiogenesis of cancer cells， promoting apoptosis of cancer cells， inducing autophagy of tumor cells， and regulating miRNA expression and immune functions. Chinese herbal medicine saponins can regulate secretory glycoprotein /β-catenin （Wnt/β-catenin）， adenylate activated protein kinase （AMPK）， nuclear transcription factor-κB （NF-κB）， mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK）， phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt）/mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR）， Janus kinase/activator of signal transduction and transcription 3 （JAK/ STAT3）， hypoxia-inducible factor-1α （HIF-1α）， Toll-like receptor （TLR）， and other related signaling pathways to get involved in the proliferation， metastasis， angiogenesis， apoptosis， autophagy， and other processes of cancer cells， thus interfering with the progression of cancer. Therefore， the focus of this review is to update the discovery and evaluation of Chinese herbal medicine saponins with anti-cancer properties， clarify their mechanism of action， including the progress of related signaling pathways， and deepen the understanding of the anti-cancer function of Chinese herbal medicine saponins， so as to provide a new perspective and direction for the prevention and treatment of tumors by traditional Chinese medicine and better promote the development and utilization of resources.
