Abstract

ANTICANCER AGENT FROM MEDICINAL PLANTS

Shailaja Gurme*

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Abstract

Cancer is a disease caused by uninhibited cell division. The disease destroys healthy tissues in body and poses a threat to life. Cancer can occur in any part of the body and can spread to other plants of the body about a hundred types of cancer are known. This is more common in middle- age and older people. The risk of developing diseases increases with age. The incidence of cancer in men and women is almost the same. Cancer is caused due to different factors like tobacco consumption, exposure of body to chemicals, dietary factors and ecological factors. Conventional medication of treatment of cancer has several impacts on healthy cells. There is also a difficult issue of increase in tumor resistance to the current therapeutic agents. Due to this, there is a huge need to fight this disease with more effective prescription. Natural product plays an essential role in fight against cancer and provides a valuable gateway for the use and investigation of new therapeutic agents. Medicinal plants represent a superior source of detection and development of anticancer agents. Medicinal plants contains various secondary metabolites which include alkaloids, flavanoids, phenolics, carotenoids, etc. several medicinal plants are known to hold anticancer activity.

Keywords: Medicinal plants; cancer; phytocompouds; Anticancer activity.