Introduction: Cancer poses a significant public health challenge in both developed and developing nations, with a rising global incidence of patients facing the threat of death due to abnormal cell proliferation.
Aim: Review explores the utilization of different parts of herbal medicinal plants and their active pharmaceutical constituents in the prevention and treatment of various types of cancer.
Methodology: Various anticancer medicinal plants have been identified, demonstrating their therapeutic effects by inhibiting cancer-stimulating enzymes and hormones, activating DNA repair processes, boosting the synthesis of protective stimulants, reducing the formation of free radicals, and enhancing individual immunity. Data for this study were gathered from diverse online bibliographic and databases, including Google, Google Scholar, Mendeley, Springer Link, Research Gate, and PubMed.
Result: Herbal drugs have a huge contribution to the inhibition of the progression of cancer.A large volume of clinical studies has reported the beneficial effects of herbal medicines on the survival, immune modulation, and quality of life (QOL) of cancer patients, when these herbal medicines are used in combination with conventional therapeutics.
Conclusion: The latest medicines for the clinical purpose (Above 50 %) are derived from herbal products. Furthermore, combination of these herbs with nanotechnology shows promise in treating specific carcinomas.
Keywords: Anticancer; Apoptosis; Carcinogenesis; Herbal medicine; Malignancy; Phytochemical constituents.
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