title: Chemical and preclinical studies on Hedyotis diffusa with anticancer potential.
abstract: This paper presents the chemical and preclinical anticancer research on Hedyotis diffusa Willd. in detail, one of the most renowned herbs often prescribed in the polyherbal formulas for cancer treatment in traditional Chinese medicine. Anthraquinones, flavonoids, and terpenoids constitute the majority of the 69 compounds that have been isolated and identified from H. diffusa. The anticancer effects of the methanolic, ethanolic, and aqueous extracts in various preclinical cancer models have been described. This review also summarized the anticancer activity of constituents of the herb and the mechanisms of action. All the studies suggest that H. diffusa has enormous potential in the therapy of cancer and warrants further chemical and pharmacological investigation.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Agricultural Resources and Economy, Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Taiyuan 030006, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.forename: Qiu-Xia
authors.initials: QX
authors.lastname: Meng
mesh_terms: D000880:Anthraquinones; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D005419:Flavonoids; D032064:Hedyotis / Q000737:chemistry*; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D015394:Molecular Structure; D013729:Terpenes
chemical_list: D000880:Anthraquinones; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D005419:Flavonoids; D013729:Terpenes