Studying plant-derived coumarins for their pharmacological and therapeutic properties as potential anticancer drugs

Coumarins have attracted intense interest in recent years because of their diverse pharmacological properties. Among these properties, their anticancer effect was most extensively examined. In this review, their broad range of effects on the tumours as shown by various in vitro and in vivo experiments as well as clinical investigations is discussed. Studies have indicated that coumarins elicit inhibitory effects on cell growth of various carcinoma cell lines and may be potential candidates for cancer therapy. These natural compounds have served as valuable leads for further design and synthesis of more active analogues. In view of the relative simplicity of the coumarin compounds and their mechanism of action, the coumarin pharmacophore may serve as an important model on which to develop new patterns in cancer chemotherapy. The aim of this review is to examine in detail the properties of the title compounds as anticancer agents. In view of their comparatively low toxicity, relative cheapness, presence in the diet and occurrence in various herbal remedies, it appears important to evaluate their anticancer potentialities. Moreover their synergistic activity in combination therapy with other well-known anticancer drugs could be the basis for the development of rational approaches to new forms of cancer chemotherapy.