Ali Md Liakot, Noushin Fabiha, Sadia Qurratul Ain, Metu Afroz Fathema, Meem Jannatul Naima, Chowdhury Md Tanvir, Rasel Md Hossain, Suma Khurshida Jahan, Alim Md Abdul, Jalil Muhammad Abdul, Mamun Md Jahirul Islam, Hasan Md Mahmudul, Hoque Neamul, Azme Eva
Department of Pharmacy, University of Chittagong, Chattogram 4331, Bangladesh.
Cancer Pathog Ther. 2024 Jul 6;3(3):197-214. doi: 10.1016/j.cpt.2024.07.003. eCollection 2025 May.
Breast cancer (BC) continues to be the primary malignant neoplasm affecting women. For many years, traditional approaches such as chemotherapy, hormone therapy, radiation, and surgical interventions have been employed to treat BC. However, these therapies often fall short due to considerable adverse effects and the development of multidrug resistance or tolerance. Spices and culinary herbs that have been utilized in culinary practices for millennia have also demonstrated therapeutic effects in traditional medicinal practices serving to both prevent and treat BC. This review aims to comprehensively explore the roles and underlying mechanisms through which spices and culinary herbs exert anti-BC properties. These natural ingredients exhibit diverse anti-BC effects that encompass diverse mechanisms, including the inhibition of BC cell proliferation, migration, metastasis, and angiogenesis, as well as the induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. These actions are achieved by targeting signaling pathways such as phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), notch signaling, Hedgehog signaling, nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), and Wingless/int (Wnt)/β-catenin signaling pathways that are predominantly overexpressed in breast tumors or are exploited by them to promote cancer progression. Additionally, compounds such as curcumin, allicin, gingerol, zerumbone, diosgenin, capsaicin, piperine, quercetin, malabaricone C, eugenol, cardamomin, carnosol, cinnamaldehyde, sinigrin present in these spices and herbs may be more effective with reduced side effects against BC compared to conventional chemotherapeutic drugs. This review presents a concise overview of the potential contributions of spices, culinary herbs, and their potent bioactive constituents against BC, with particular emphasis on elucidating their mechanisms of action.
乳腺癌（BC）仍然是影响女性的主要恶性肿瘤。多年来，化疗、激素治疗、放疗和手术干预等传统方法一直被用于治疗乳腺癌。然而，由于相当大的副作用以及多药耐药性或耐受性的产生，这些疗法往往效果不佳。数千年来一直用于烹饪的香料和药草在传统医学实践中也显示出对乳腺癌的预防和治疗作用。本综述旨在全面探讨香料和药草发挥抗乳腺癌特性的作用及其潜在机制。这些天然成分具有多种抗乳腺癌作用，涉及多种机制，包括抑制乳腺癌细胞增殖、迁移、转移和血管生成，以及诱导细胞周期停滞和凋亡。这些作用是通过靶向磷脂酰肌醇3激酶（PI3K）/蛋白激酶B（Akt）/雷帕霉素靶蛋白（mTOR）、Notch信号通路、Hedgehog信号通路、核因子κB（NF-κB）以及Wingless/int（Wnt）/β-连环蛋白信号通路等信号通路实现的，这些信号通路在乳腺肿瘤中主要过度表达或被肿瘤利用以促进癌症进展。此外，这些香料和药草中存在的姜黄素、大蒜素、姜辣素、莪术酮、薯蓣皂苷元、辣椒素、胡椒碱、槲皮素、马拉巴酮C、丁香酚、小豆蔻明、鼠尾草酸、肉桂醛、芥子苷等化合物，与传统化疗药物相比，可能对乳腺癌更有效且副作用更小。本综述简要概述了香料、药草及其有效生物活性成分对乳腺癌的潜在作用，特别强调阐明其作用机制。
