science

Plant sources of anti-cancer agents

Plant sources of anti-cancer agents is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Plant sources of anti-cancer agents rather than just read about it. In short: Plant sources of anti-cancer agents are plants, the derivatives of which have been shown to be usable for the treatment or prevention of cancer in humans. Background In the 1950s, scientists began systematically examining natural organisms as a source of useful anti-cancer substances.

Key takeaways

Plant sources of anti-cancer agents belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Plant sources of anti-cancer agents to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Plant sources of anti-cancer agents from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Plant sources of anti-cancer agents are plants, the derivatives of which have been shown to be usable for the treatment or prevention of cancer in humans.

Background In the 1950s, scientists began systematically examining natural organisms as a source of useful anti-cancer substances. It has been argued that "the use of natural products has been the single most successful strategy in the discovery of novel medicines". Plants need to defend themselves from attack by micro-organisms, in particular fungi, and they do this by producing anti-fungal chemicals that are toxic to fungi. Because fungal and human cells are similar at a biochemical level it is often the case that chemical compounds intended for plant defence have an inhibitory effect on human cells, including human cancer cells. Those plant chemicals that are selectively more toxic to cancer cells than normal cells have been discovered in screening programs and developed as chemotherapy drugs.

Research and development process Some plants that indicate potential as an anticancer agent in laboratory-based in vitro research – for example, Typhonium flagelliforme, and Murraya koenigii are currently being studied. There can be many years between promising laboratory work and the availability of an effective anti-cancer drug: Monroe Eliot Wall discovered anti-cancer properties in Camptotheca in 1958, but it was not until 1996 – after further research and rounds of clinical trials – that topotecan, a synthetic derivative of a chemical in the plant, was approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Plants Camptotheca acuminata The cancer treatment drug topotecan is a synthetic chemical compound similar in chemical structure to camptothecin which is found in extracts of Camptotheca (happy tree).

Catharanthus roseus Vinca alkaloids were originally manufactured by extracting them from Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar Periwinkle).

Podophyllum spp. Two chemotherapy drugs, etoposide and teniposide, are synthetic chemical compounds similar in chemical structure to the toxin podophyllotoxin which is found in Podophyllum peltatum (May Apple).

Taxus brevifolia Chemicals extracted from clippings of Taxus brevifolia (Pacific yew) have been used as the basis for two chemotherapy drugs, docetaxel and paclitaxel.

Euphorbia peplus Contains ingenol mebutate (Picato) which is used to treat skin cancer

Maytenus ovatus Trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla) is an antibody conjugated to a synthetic derivative of the cytotoxic principle of the Ethiopian plant Maytenus ovatus. It used to treat breast cancer. Mappia foetida Some of the research has been showed that it has an effective anticancer property against breast cancer [1]

See also Herbal medicine Experimental cancer treatments Chemotherapy regimens National Comprehensive Cancer Network Alternative cancer treatments

References

External links Phytotherapy Research Apigenin and cancer chemoprevention

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Plant sources of anti-cancer agents

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Plant sources of anti-cancer agents claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Plant sources of anti-cancer agents before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Plant sources of anti-cancer agents ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Plant sources of anti-cancer agents

In research: Plant sources of anti-cancer agents appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Plant sources of anti-cancer agents in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Plant sources of anti-cancer agents is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cancer treatments, Medicinal plants, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Plant sources of anti-cancer agents outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Plant sources of anti-cancer agents in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Plant sources of anti-cancer agents means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Plant sources of anti-cancer agents out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Plant sources of anti-cancer agents in simple terms?

Plant sources of anti-cancer agents are plants, the derivatives of which have been shown to be usable for the treatment or prevention of cancer in humans. Background In the 1950s, scientists began systematically examining natural organisms as a source of useful anti-cancer substances.

Why does Plant sources of anti-cancer agents matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Plant sources of anti-cancer agents?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Plant sources of anti-cancer agents.