NOVEL STRATEGIES FOR PLANT-DERIVED ANTICANCER AGENTS

In this collaborative project oriented towards the discovery of novel anticancer agents from higher plants, a coordinated research effort is now well-established at the various consortial sites. Over 2,300 authenticated plant samples, mostly endemic to tropical countries, have been collected by experienced resident botanists, with the NAPRALERT database having been used to pre-select some of these through the weighting of published experimental data. To date, over 3,000 plant extracts have been prepared and evaluated in a broad range of cell- and mechanism-based bioassays that were selected because of their relevance to the proliferation of cancerous cells. Prioritization of plant extracts Sor activity-guided fractionation is conducted through a team approach at group meetings, and dereplication procedures for interfering plant polyphenols have been developed. A large number of active compounds have been obtained many of novel structure, and the status of a selection of these (compounds 1-17) as candidates for pre-clinical development is described in this review.