ANTHRACYCLINES STILL PROVE EFFECTIVE IN ANTICANCER THERAPY.

August 2012

Piekarski M, Jelińska A.

Source

Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry Poznan University of Medical Sciences 6 Grunwaldzka St 60-780 Poznań Poland. mpiekarski@umed.poznan.pl.

Abstract

Present-day is developing in many fields. Many pathological processes are better understood, including carcinogenesis. Consequently, the failure of pharmacotherapy aimed at cancerous diseases is becoming explainable. At the same time, new anticancer drugs continue to be introduced. Anthracycline antibiotics are a well-known and widely used group of anticancer drugs. However, in addition to their efficiency they demonstrate severe side effects compounded by the appearance of resistant cells. Therefore, the search for new anthracycline derivatives with improved pharmacodynamic properties and fewer adverse effects is in progress, delivering promising results.

PubMed

Goniothalamus species: a source of drugs for the treatment of cancers and bacterial infections?

Goniothalamus species: a source of drugs for the treatment of cancers and bacterial infections?
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2007 Sep

Wiart C.
School of Pharmacy, The University of Nottingham (Malaysia Campus), Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia.

Keywords: acetogenins, antibacterial, antifungal, apoptosis, cytotoxic, foodborn bacteria, Goniothalamus, Goniothalamus scortechinii, nosocomial, styryl-lactones.

Irrespective of the presence of cytotoxic acetogenins and styryl-lactones in the genus Goniothalamus, only 22 species in the genus Goniothalamus, out of 160 species (13.7%) have so far been investigated. In an effort to promote further research on the genus Goniothalamus which could represent a source of drugs for the treatment of cancers and bacterial infections, this work offers a broad analysis of current knowledge on Goniothalamus species. Therefore, it includes (i) taxonomy (ii) botanical description (iii) traditional medicinal uses and (iv) phytochemical and pharmacological studies. We discuss the molecular mechanisms of actions of acetogenins and styryl-lactones, with some emphasis on the possible involvement of protein kinase, Bax and TRAIL receptors in the cytotoxic effects of styryl-lactones. We also report (v) the growth inhibition of several nosocomial bacteria by Goniothalamus. scortechinii. The crude methanol extract of G. scortechinii showed a good and broad spectrum of antibacterial activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.

Full Text Article

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine