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Anticancer effects and mechanisms of genus Dioscorea: A review
Li Liu1, Yiwen Bao1, Yanfang Chen1
1State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, Chengdu 611137, PR China; Pharmacy College of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, PR China.
Background:
Dioscorea, as a plant genus, possesses dual value for both medicinal and dietary purposes. Recently, numerous studies have demonstrated that the genus Dioscorea extracts (DEs) and their compounds (DCs) exhibit significant anticancer properties.
Purpose:
This review summarizes pharmacological mechanisms, toxicology, and clinical studies of Dioscorea to evaluate its potential for novel anticancer drug development.
Methods:
A systematic search was performed across PubMed, Web of Science, and CNKI databases. The search was conducted from the time of database construction to August 2024. A total of 1742 articles were searched, and after screening, 83 articles were finally included in this study.
Results:
The analysis of 83 articles revealed that DEs and DCs exert their anticancer effects through six primary mechanisms: (1) promotion of apoptosis, (2) prevention of cancer cell proliferation, (3) suppression of tumor metastasis, (4) activation of autophagy, (5) modulation of immune responses, and (6) prevention of cancer development.
Conclusion:
DCs and DEs exhibit broad-spectrum anticancer properties. In particular, dioscin exhibits low toxicity and exerts strong anticancer effects through multiple pathways and targets. Future studies should focus on investigating these DEs and DCs, especially dioscin, as a novel anticancer agent.
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