Noscapine and analogues as potential chemotherapeutic agents

Noscapine, an antitussive drug, has been previously shown to inhibit the growth of cultured tumor cells and tumors implanted in nude mice. Like some other antitumor agents, noscapine targets a cellular protein, tubulin, that is responsible for the assembly of important scaffolding polymers, microtubules. As a result, noscapine causes the aberrant assembly of the cellular machinery necessary for cell division, the mitotic spindle. This is followed by apoptotic cell death. Current evidence suggests that the antitumor activity of noscapine might lie in its initiation of apoptotic pathways. Compared with other microtubule drugs, noscapine has low toxicity and wide efficacy in animal models. For clinical use, noscapine affords simple means of administration including oral, rectal, parenteral or by simple inhalation of suitable aerosols. Thus, noscapine and its analogues are potential cost-effective chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of human cancers.