Anticancer compounds from plants

Cancer is a leading cause of death all over the world and represents a major public health burden. Natural plant products have been historically used for the treatment of various diseases. The earnest search for plant-derived anticancer agents began in the 1950s with the discovery and development of the vinca alkaloids–vinblastine and vincristine, and with the isolation of the cytotoxic podophyllotoxins (Cragg and Newman, 2005). A good number of the current– day commercially approved anticancer drugs as well as the natural product-derived compounds in various stages of clinical development as anticancer agents originate from plants. Natural products still serve as an excellent source for the discovery and development of modern drugs for cancer treatment. The present work reviews the most recent information in the field of natural anticancer substances, and in this regard we have summarized the key information published in 2012 on plant derived anticancer compounds (Table 1).