Sains Malaysiana 52(6)(2023): 1749-1758

http://doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2023-5206-11

Insights on Anticancer Activities, Associated Phytochemicals and Potential Molecular Mechanisms of Quisqualis indica: A Mini Review

(Pandangan tentang Aktiviti Antikanser, Fitokimia Berkaitan dan Mekanisme Molekul Berpotensi Quisqualis indica: Suatu Kajian Mini)

YUAN SENG WU^1,2, MICHELLE FELICIA LEE^1,2, RHANYE MAC GUAD^3,*, FATHIMA ZAHRAA OZEER^1,2, APPALARAJU VELAGA⁴, VETRISELVAN SUBRAMANIYAN^5,6, NEERAJ KUMAR FULORIA⁷, SHIVKANYA FULORIA⁷, KER WOON CHOY⁸, SZE MENG LEE⁴, SUBASH C.B. GOPINATH^9,10, AMITA VERMA¹¹ & TZE PHENG LAU²

¹Centre for Virus and Vaccine Research, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, 47500 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

²Department of Biological Sciences, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, 47500 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

³Department of Biomedical Science and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

⁴Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, MAHSA University, 42610 Jenjarom, Selangor, Malaysia

⁵Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

⁶Center for Transdisciplinary Research, Department of Pharmacology, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Saveetha University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600077, India

⁷Faculty of Pharmacy, AIMST University, 08100 Bedong, Kedah, Malaysia

⁸Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 47000 Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia

⁹School of Bioprocess Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, 02600 Arau, Perlis, Malaysia

¹⁰Institute of Nano Electronic Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, 01000 Kangar, Perlis, Malaysia

¹¹Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj, India

Received: 13 December 2022/Accepted: 12 June 2023

Abstract

Drug resistance is the main issue causing the treatment failure of anticancer drugs. This issue has urged researchers to search for new substances from medicinal plants, which are widely reported as the good sources of anticancer agents. Quisqualis indica is a plant belongs to Combretaceae family, known as Rangoon Creeper, which can be found abundantly in tropical countries and distributed profusely as a wild shrub. It has been widely used traditionally and scientifically claimed to process various therapeutic activities. It has recently been reported to possess various potential anticancer activities against different cancers. Looking at its availability in almost all seasons and grow fast, it is an arising source of herbal medicine in the discovery of anticancer drugs economically. Besides, Q. indica is enriched with several secondary metabolites of interest, which are responsible for the positive findings for its anticancer potentials. In this review, we aim to decipher and discuss the anticancer activities of Q. indica crude extracts and isolated phytochemicals as evidenced in preclinical models, as well as the associated molecular mechanisms. More preclinical investigations on its anticancer potentials should be conducted before translation to clinical testing.

Keywords: Anticancer; molecular mechanism; phytochemicals; phytotherapy; Quisqualis indica

Abstrak

Rintangan ubat adalah isu utama yang menyebabkan kegagalan rawatan ubat antikanser sintetik. Isu ini telah menggesa para penyelidik untuk mencari bahan baharu daripada tumbuhan ubatan yang dilaporkan secara meluas sebagai sumber agen antikanser yang baik. Quisqualis indica ialah tumbuhan daripada famili Combretaceae dan dikenali sebagai Rangoon Creeper. Ia mudah ditemui di negara tropika dan bertaburan dengan banyak sebagai semak liar. Q. indica telah digunakan dengan meluas secara tradisi dan dibuktikan secara saintifik mempunyai pelbagai aktiviti terapeutik. Ia telah dilaporkan menunjukkan pelbagai aktiviti antikanser yang berpotensi terhadap pelbagai kanser. Melihat pada ketersediaannya dalam hampir semua musim dan berkembang pesat, ia merupakan sumber perubatan herba ekonomi dalam penemuan ubat-ubatan antikanser. Selain itu, Q. indica diperkaya dengan beberapa metabolit sekunder yang diminati dan bertanggungjawab terhadap penemuan positif potensi antikansernya. Ulasan ini bertujuan untuk menguraikan dan membincangkan aktiviti antikanser ekstrak mentah Q. indica dan fitokimia terpencil seperti yang dibuktikan dalam model praklinikal dan mekanisme molekul yang berkaitan. Penyelidikan masa depan boleh meliputi lebih banyak ujian praklinikal untuk lebih mengenai potensi antikansernya sebelum terjemahan kepada ujian klinikal.

Kata kunci: Antikanser; fitokimia; fitoterapi; mekanisme molekul; Quisqualis indica

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*Corresponding author; email: rhanye@ums.edu.my