- 1Department
of Immunology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia,
Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia.
niksoriani@usm.my.
Abstract
Breast
cancer has continued to cause high cancer death rates among women
worldwide. The use of plants' natural products in breast cancer
treatment has received more attention in recent years due to their
potentially wider safety margin and the potential to complement
conventional chemotherapeutic drugs. Plant-based products have
demonstrated anticancer potential through different biological pathways
including modulation of the immune system. Immunomodulatory properties
of medicinal plants have been shown to mitigate breast cancer cell
growth. Different immune cell types participate in this process
especially cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells, and cytokines
including chemokines and tumor necrosis factor-α. Medicinal plants such
as Glycyrrhiza glabra, Uncaria tomentosa, Camellia sinensis, Panax
ginseng, Prunus
armenaica (apricot), Allium sativum, Arctium lappa and Curcuma longa
were reported to hold strong potential in breast cancer treatment in
various parts of the world. Interestingly, research findings have shown
that these plants possess bioactive immunomodulators as their main
constituents producing the anticancer effects. These immunomodulatory
compounds include ajoene, arctigenin, β-carotene, curcumin,
epigallocatechin-3-gallate, ginsan, glabridin and quinic acid. In this
review, we discussed the ability of these eight immunomodulators in
regulating the immune system potentially applicable in breast cancer
treatment via anti-inflammatory (curcumin, arctigenin, glabridin and
ajoene) and lymphocytes activation (β-carotene,
epigallocatechin-3-gallate, quinic acid and ginsan) properties, as well
as future research direction in their use for breast cancer treatment.
