Medicinal herbs as a treatment for breast carcinoma

Abstract

Breast cancer is a leading malignancy causing mortality and morbidity among women worldwide. Therefore, finding effective treatment modalities for Breast cancers is of utmost importance. There is a growing interest to search for herbal remedies for breast cancers due to serious side effects caused by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Fruits and vegetables contain a wide range of phytochemicals with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative properties. Some examples for phytochemicals with anticancer properties against breast cancer are polyphenols, flavonoids, tannins, and Ellagic acid. Extracts from green tea, Mango, Pomegranate, Bael fruit, ‘Katupila’ (F. leucopyra), Custard Apple, Berries, Curry leaves, Bitter goud Papaw and Turmeric have been found to be rich sources of these phytochemicals. The phytochemicals found in these extracts act against breast cancer cell lines such as MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 and Hs 578T through different modes including the arrest of cell cycle, apoptosis, modulation of enzyme pathways and anti-inflammatory properties.