University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
AcePre, LLC, Columbia, SC, USA.
Integr Cancer Ther. 2022 Jan-Dec;21:15347354211067469. doi: 10.1177/15347354211067469.
Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers cause one-third of all cancer-related deaths worldwide. Natural compounds are emerging as alternative or adjuvant cancer therapies given their distinct advantage of manipulating multiple pathways to both suppress tumor growth and alleviate cancer comorbidities; however, concerns regarding efficacy, bioavailability, and safety are barriers to their development for clinical use. Emodin (1,3,8-trihydroxy-6-methylanthraquinone), a Chinese herb-derived anthraquinone, has been shown to exert anti-tumor effects in colon, liver, and pancreatic cancers. While the mechanisms underlying emodin's tumoricidal effects continue to be unearthed, recent evidence highlights a role for mitochondrial mediated apoptosis, modulated stress and inflammatory signaling pathways, and blunted angiogenesis. The goals of this review are to (1) highlight emodin's anti-cancer properties within GI cancers, (2) discuss the known anti-cancer mechanisms of action of emodin, (3) address emodin's potential as a treatment complementary to standard chemotherapeutics, (4) assess the efficacy and bioavailability of emodin derivatives as they relate to cancer, and (5) evaluate the safety of emodin.
胃肠道（GI）癌症导致全球三分之一的癌症相关死亡。鉴于天然化合物具有操纵多种途径的独特优势，既能抑制肿瘤生长，又能缓解癌症合并症，因此它们作为癌症的替代或辅助治疗方法正在兴起；然而，对于它们的开发和临床应用，人们对其疗效、生物利用度和安全性仍存在担忧。大黄素（1,3,8-三羟基-6-甲基蒽醌）是一种来源于中草药的蒽醌类化合物，已被证明对结肠癌、肝癌和胰腺癌具有抗肿瘤作用。虽然大黄素的抗肿瘤作用机制仍在不断被揭示，但最近的证据强调了线粒体介导的细胞凋亡、调节应激和炎症信号通路以及抑制血管生成的作用。本综述的目的是：（1）强调大黄素在胃肠道癌症中的抗癌特性；（2）讨论大黄素已知的抗癌作用机制；（3）探讨大黄素作为标准化疗辅助治疗的潜力；（4）评估与癌症相关的大黄素衍生物的疗效和生物利用度；（5）评估大黄素的安全性。
