Anticancer principles from medicinal piper ( hú jiāo) plants

Area of Science:

• Ethnobotany
• Pharmacology
• Medicinal Chemistry

Background:

• The genus Piper (Piperaceae) comprises ~2000 species, with 10 utilized in traditional medicine for cancer treatment.
• Ethnomedical applications of Piper (Hú Jiāo) plants as anticancer agents are historically documented.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the ethnomedical uses of Piper plants as anticancer agents.
• To summarize in vitro cytotoxic and in vivo antitumor activities of Piper extracts and compounds.
• To explore the mechanism of action for selected active compounds.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of studies on Piper plants and their anticancer properties.
• Analysis of in vitro cytotoxic assays against various cancer cell lines.
• Evaluation of in vivo antitumor efficacy and mechanistic studies of active compounds.

Main Results:

• 35 extracts from 24 Piper species and 32 compounds demonstrated cytotoxic activity.
• Amide alkaloids constitute 53% of the identified active principles.
• Piplartine (piperlongumine) exhibited potent toxicity against numerous cancer cell lines and significant in vivo antitumor activity.

Conclusions:

• Piper plants and their derived compounds possess considerable potential as anticancer agents.
• Piplartine (piperlongumine) is a highly promising candidate for further anticancer drug development.
• Continued in vitro and in vivo research on Piper species is warranted for novel cancer therapies.