Role of Medicinal plant-derived Nutraceuticals as a potential target for the treatment of breast cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most challenging cancers to treat, accounting for many cancer-related deaths. Over some years, chemotherapy, hormone treatment, radiation, and surgeries have been used to treat cancer. Unfortunately, these treatment options are unsuccessful due to crucial adverse reactions and multidrug tolerance/resistance. Although it is clear that substances in the nutraceuticals category have a lot of anti-cancer activity, using a supplementary therapy strategy, in this case, could be very beneficial. Nutraceuticals are therapeutic agents, which are nutrients that have drug-like characteristics and can be used to treat diseases. Plant nutraceuticals categorized into polyphenols, terpenoids, vitamins, alkaloids, and flavonoids are part of health food products, that have great potential for combating BC. Nutraceuticals can reduce BC's severity, limit malignant cell growth, and modify cancer-related mechanisms. Nutraceuticals acting by attenuating Hedgehog, Nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), Notch, and Wnt/β-catenin signaling are the main pathways in controlling the self-renewal of breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs). This article reviews some important nutraceuticals and their modes of action, which can be very powerful versus BC. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Nutraceuticals' importance to the control and diagnosis of breast cancer is undeniable and cannot be overlooked. Natural dietary compounds have a wide range of uses and have been used in traditional medicine. In addition, these natural chemicals can enhance the effectiveness of other traditional medicines. They may also be used as a treatment process independently because of their capacity to affect several cancer pathways. This study highlights a variety of natural chemicals, and their mechanisms of action, routes, synergistic effects, and future potentials are all examined.

Keywords: Hedgehog; Nutraceuticals; Wnt/β-catenin; breast cancer; polyphenols.