Doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01585

Bhrigu Kumar Das a,b, AHM Viswanatha Swamy a, Basavaraj C. Koti a, Pramod C. Gadad a,b,*
a KLE College of Pharmacy (A Constituent Unit of KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research, Belagavi), Vidyanagar, Hubballi, 580 031, Karnataka, India
b Off-campus Basic and Applied Sciences Research Centre of KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research at KLE College of Pharmacy, Vidyanagar, Hubballi, 580 031,
Karnataka, India

• Published online 2019 May 8

Abstract

Cancer is one of the major non-communicable diseases posing substantial challenges in both developing and developed countries. The options available for treatment of different cancer are associated with various limitations, including severe toxicity, drug resistance, poor outcomes and a high risk of relapse. Hence, an increased attention and necessity for screening of various phytochemicals from natural sources for superior and safer alternative has been ongoing for several decades. In recent years, phytochemicals like galantamine, erwinaze, rivastigmine, resveratrol from natural sources have been found to be important therapeutic targets for the treatment of various diseases including cancer, neurodegeneration, diabetes, and cardiovascular effects. Acorus calamus (Sweet flag), and/or its bioactive phytochemical alpha (α)-and beta (β)-asarone, is a well-known drug in the traditional system of medicine which possesses anti-tumor and chemo-preventive activities as evident from numerous pre-clinical studies both in-vitro and in-vivo. In this article, we critically review the current available scientific evidences of A. calamus and/or asarone for cancer chemoprevention based on preclinical in-vitro and in-vivo models. In addition, we also have compiled and discussed the molecular targets of mechanism(s) involved in the anti-cancer activity of A. calamus/asarone. Still, extensive in-vivo studies are necessary using various animal models to understand the molecular mechanism behind the pharmacological activity of the bioactive phytochemicals derived from A. calamus. It is strongly believed that the comprehensive evidence presented in this article could deliver a possible source for researchers to conduct future studies pertaining to A. calamus and/or its bioactive phytochemicals asarone for cancer chemoprevention.

Keywords: Evidence-based medicine, Oncology, Biochemistry, Cancer research, Cell biology, Molecular biology

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1. Introduction

The cancer is a major non-communicable disease posing substantial social and economical challenges in both developing and developed countries. The rapid rise in cancer mortality rates accounting together for China, India and Russia is nearly twofold high compared to the UK and the USA. The number of factors contributed for rapid rise in cancer incidence in the growing economies include changes in lifestyles (food habit, decreased physical activity and sedentary lifestyles), low socio-income populations with minimum cancer care facility, different contaminants of the environment, increase in aged populations, and increase in oncogenic communicable infective organisms [1, 2]. According to International Agency for Research on Cancer GLOBOCAN project, the rise in the cancer burden in India will nearly be double in the next 20 years and is predicted to be more than 1.7 million cases by 2035 [2,3].

In the current scenario, the options available for treatment of different cancer are associated with various limitations, including severe toxicity, drug resistance, poor outcomes and a high risk of relapse. Hence, an increased attention and necessity for screening of various phytochemicals from natural sources for superior and safer alternative has been ongoing for several decades. The chemo-preventive agents available from the different parts of plants are used in the form of alternative and evidence-based complementary system of medicine along with the current chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy [4]. The recent research focus has shifted to the molecular mechanisms of these natural phytoconstituents on various signal transduction mechanisms controlling the cell growth and the cell cycle.

Acorus calamus (L.) (Sweet flag), a member of the family Acoraceae, generally used alone or in combination with other herbs in Indian and Chinese traditional medicine has generated great interest and is found to be beneficial [5]. Acorus gramineus (S.) and Acorus tatarinowii (S.) (Acoraceae), the other plants from Acorus species are officially listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia [6, 7]. The plant is widely cultivated in different parts of temperate and sub-temperate regions of the world and is native to India, Sri Lanka, Japan, China, Burma, Mongolia, Southern Russia, Europe and Northern USA [8, 9]. The habitat of the herbaceous perennial plant A. calamus, is semi-aquatic and terrestrial with creeping rhizomes. The rhizomes are bitter in taste, highly branched, pinkish or pale green in color and citrus in odor [8, 10]. In this review, we have summarized and discussed the anti-cancer properties of A. calamus and/or its main bioactive phytochemicals asarone (alpha (α)-and, beta (β)-asarone) and related mechanisms based on in-vitro and in-vivo experimental evidences.

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6513775/