Potential Anticancer Agents Characterized from Selected Tropical Plants

Higher plants are well known for their value in affording clinically useful anticancer agents, with such compounds acting against cancer cells by a range of mechanisms of action. There remains a strong interest in the discovery and development of plant secondary metabolites as additional cancer chemotherapeutic lead compounds. In the present review, progress on the discovery of plant-derived compounds of the biflavonoid, lignan, sesquiterpene, steroid, and xanthone structural types is presented. Several potential anticancer leads of these types have been characterized from tropical plants collected in three countries as part of our ongoing collaborative multi-institutional project. Preliminary structure-activity relationships and work on in vivo testing and cellular mechanisms of action are also discussed. In addition, the relevant work reported by other groups on the same compound classes is included herein.