Table 1.

Anticancer agent from natural source that has been already used in the treatment of various cancers in humans and FDA-approved agents.

Name	Source	Name of the source	MOA	Target and type of cancer	Reference
Vincristine vinca alkaloid	Plant	Catharanthus roseus	Inhibits self assembly of microtubule and induces assembly of tubulin	Children's leukemia	[22, 23]
Vinblastine	Plant	Catharanthus roseus	Binds to microtubule proteins in the mitotic spindle and prevents cell division during metaphase	Hodgkin's disease (lymphoid cancer)
Etoposide	Plant	Podophyllum peltatum	Inhibits enzyme topoisomerase II in DNA replication	Testicular cancer (along bleomycin and cisplatin)	[24]
Camptothecin quinoline alkaloid	Plant	Camptotheca acuminata	Topoisomerase I	Irinotecan and topotecan ovarian and colorectal cancer	[25]
Paclitaxel	Plant	Taxus brevifolia	Stabilizes microtubules and leads to mitotic arrest	Ovarian, breast, and other tumors in clinic	[26, 27]
Docetaxel	Plant		Antineoplastic activity: I—inhibition of microtubular depolymerization II—attenuation of the effects of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL gene expression
Taxane	Plant		Disruption of microtubule function	Early and metastatic breast cancer	[28]
Homoharringtonine	Plant	Cephalotaxus harringtonii	Inhibition of protein synthesis in the ribosome of cancer cells	Chronic myeloid leukemia after failure of 2 or more tyrosine kinase inhibitors	[29]
Ingenol mebutate	Plant	Euphorbia peplus	Protein kinase C (PKC) activator	Antileukemic	[30]
Cytarabine	Marine	Sponge	Sugar moiety of cytarabine hinder the rotation of the molecule within the DNA. Stops replication of DNA in the S phase of cell cycle.	AME and non-Hodgkin lymphoma FDA approved	[31, 32]
Ecteinascidin-743 (synthetic compound like sponge)	Marine	Ecteinascidia turbinata	Interacts with the minor groove of DNA and alkylates guanine at the N2 position	Metastatic breast cancer FDA approved 2010	[33, 34]
Dolastatin-10, (MMAE-synthetic)	Marine	Dolabella auricularia	Binds to the microtubule and prevents polymerization inhibiting the G/M phase cell cycle and apoptosis	Hodgkin's lymphoma, systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma, cutaneous, peripheral T-cell lymphomas FDA approved	[35]
Eribulin	Marine	Marine sponge	Inhibition of microtubule polymerization—by binding to high-affinity sites on β-tubulin at the exposed (plus) ends of growing microtubules	Unresectable and metastatic liposarcoma FDA approved	[36]
Eribulin mesylate	Marine	Marine sponge, Halichondria okadai	Inhibition of the growth phase of the microtubule	Metastatic breast cancer approved	[36]
Cytosar-U	Marine	Coral reef	Interferes in DNA synthesis in cells and kills it	Leukemia and lymphoma	[37]
5-Episinuleptolide acetate	Marine	Coral reef	This diterpenoid led to caspases-3, -8, and -9 activation as well as PARP cleavage. It also induced ROS generation, calcium accumulation, and disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential.	Leukemia	[38]
Plitidepsin	Marine tunicates	Aplidium albicans	Inhibits proliferating cell and causes programmed cell death	Multiple myeloma FDA approved 2006	[39]
40-O-(2-hydroxyethyl-rapamycin	Microorganism	Streptomyces hygroscopicus	Protein kinase inhibitor and cytochrome P450 3A4 inhibitor; modulates human dendritic cell function	Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: FDA 2011, renal angiomyoloma with tubererous sclerosis FDA April 2012, hormone receptor-positive, HERS2-negative breast cancer FDA July 2012	[40]
Carfilzomib	Microorganism	Actinomycetes No. Q996-17	Selective protease inhibitor	Relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma—FDA July 2012	[41]
Doxorubicin (DOX)	Microorganism	Streptomyces peucetius var. caesius	Intercalation of DOX-base pairs on the strands of the DNA, resulting in the inhibition of synthesis of DNA and transcription, the iron free radicals generated causes cellular damage to membranes, protein, and DNA	Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloblastic leukemia, Wilms' tumor, neuroblastoma, soft tissue and bone sarcomas, breast carcinoma, ovarian carcinoma, transitional cell bladder carcinoma, thyroid carcinoma, gastric carcinoma, Hodgkin's disease, malignant lymphoma, and bronchogenic carcinoma 1974	[42]