The Potential Pharmacological Effects of Natural Product Withaferin A in Cancer: Opportunities and Challenges for Clinical Translation
Planta Med DOI: 10.1055/a-2289-9600Cancer is one of the biggest health concerns with a complex pathophysiology.
Currently, available chemotherapeutic drugs are showing deleterious side
effects, and tumors often show resistance to treatment. Hence, extensive
research is required to develop new treatment strategies to fight against
cancer. Natural resources from plants are at the forefront of hunting novel
drugs to treat various types of cancers. Withaferin A (WA) is a naturally
occurring withanolide, a biologically active component obtained from the plant
Ashwagandha. Various in vitro and in vivo oncological studies have
reported that Withaferin A (WA) has shown protection from cancer. WA shows its
activity by inhibiting the growth and proliferation of malignant cells,
apoptosis, and inhibiting angiogenesis, metastasis, and cancer stem cells
(CSCs). In addition, WA also showed chemo- and radio-sensitizing properties.
Besides the beneficiary pharmacological activities of WA, a few aspects like
pharmacokinetic properties, safety, and toxicity studies are still lacking,
hindering this potent natural product from entering clinical development. In
this review, we have summarized the various pharmacological mechanisms shown by
WA in in vitro and in vivo cancer studies and the challenges that
must be overcome for thi...
Source: Planta Medica - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Devabattula, Geetanjali Panda, Biswajit Yadav, Rachana Godugu, Chandraiah Tags: Reviews Source Type: research
More News: Ashwagandha | Cancer | Cancer & Oncology | Drugs & Pharmacology | Stem Cell Therapy | Stem Cells | Study | Toxicology