Anticancer polysaccharides from natural resources: A review of recent research

• Published in: Carbohydrate polymers Vol. 90; no. 4; pp. 1395 - 1410
• Main Authors: Zong, Aizhen, Cao, Hongzhi, Wang, Fengshan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 06.11.2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: adverse effects; Anticancer; Antineoplastic agents; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Applied sciences; Biological and medical sciences; clinical trials; Conservation of Natural Resources; drug therapy; Exact sciences and technology; General aspects; Humans; markets; Medical sciences; Natural polymers; natural resources; neoplasms; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Physicochemistry of polymers; Polysaccharides; Polysaccharides - therapeutic use; Polysaccharide–protein complexes; Review Literature as Topic; Starch and polysaccharides; Anticancer; Polysaccharides; Polysaccharide–protein complexes; Antineoplastic agent; State of the art; Microbial origin; Polysaccharide-protein complexes; Plant origin; Animal origin; Oside polymer; Biological activity
• ISSN: 0144-8617; 1879-1344
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2012.07.026

► A large amount of natural polysaccharides have anticancer activities. ► Polysaccharides inhibit tumor growth by direct toxicity and immunomodulation. ► Mushroom glucans enhance the efficacy and reduce the toxicity of chemotherapy. Taking into account the rising trend of the incidence of cancers of various organs, effective therapies are urgently needed to control human malignancies. However, almost all of the chemotherapy drugs currently on the market cause serious side effects. Fortunately, several previous studies have shown that some non-toxic biological macromolecules, including polysaccharides and polysaccharide–protein complexes, possess anti-cancer activities or can increase the efficacy of conventional chemotherapy drugs. Based on these encouraging observations, a great deal of effort has been focused on discovering anti-cancer polysaccharides and complexes for the development of effective therapeutics for various human cancers. This review focuses on the advancements in the anti-cancer efficacy of various natural polysaccharides and polysaccharide complexes in the past 5 years. Most polysaccharides were tested using model systems, while several involved clinical trials.