The Potential Pharmacological Effects of Natural Product Withaferin A in Cancer: Opportunities and Challenges for Clinical Translation

Geetanjali Devabattula; Biswajit Panda; Rachana Yadav; Chandraiah Godugu

doi:10.1055/a-2289-9600

Planta Medica, Table of Contents

Planta Med 2024; 90(06): 440-453
DOI: 10.1055/a-2289-9600

Biological and Pharmacological Activity

Reviews

The Potential Pharmacological Effects of Natural Product Withaferin A in Cancer: Opportunities and Challenges for Clinical Translation

Geetanjali Devabattula

Pharamacology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Hyderabad, Balanagar, India

,

Biswajit Panda

Pharamacology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Hyderabad, Balanagar, India

,

Rachana Yadav

Pharamacology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Hyderabad, Balanagar, India

,

Chandraiah Godugu

Pharamacology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Hyderabad, Balanagar, India

› Author Affiliations

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Cancer is one of the biggest health concerns with a complex pathophysiology. Currently, available chemotherapeutic drugs are showing deleterious side effects, and tumors often show resistance to treatment. Hence, extensive research is required to develop new treatment strategies to fight against cancer. Natural resources from plants are at the forefront of hunting novel drugs to treat various types of cancers. Withaferin A (WA) is a naturally occurring withanolide, a biologically active component obtained from the plant Ashwagandha. Various in vitro and in vivo oncological studies have reported that Withaferin A (WA) has shown protection from cancer. WA shows its activity by inhibiting the growth and proliferation of malignant cells, apoptosis, and inhibiting angiogenesis, metastasis, and cancer stem cells (CSCs). In addition, WA also showed chemo- and radio-sensitizing properties. Besides the beneficiary pharmacological activities of WA, a few aspects like pharmacokinetic properties, safety, and toxicity studies are still lacking, hindering this potent natural product from entering clinical development. In this review, we have summarized the various pharmacological mechanisms shown by WA in in vitro and in vivo cancer studies and the challenges that must be overcome for this potential natural productʼs clinical translation to be effective.

Keywords

Withania somnifera - Solanaceae - Withaferin A - cancer - apoptosis - chemoprevention - metastasis.

Full Text

References

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