Table 1.

Role of PCs as anti-cancer agents through direct or indirect apoptotic mode of action.

Phytochemicals (Pcs) or Derivatives	Source	Cancer Type	Mode of Action	Ref.
Ursolic acid	Oldenlandia diffusa	Lung cancer	Mitotic kinase activity inhibition	[71]
	Punica granatum	Breast cancer	Anti-cancer property via Akt/mTOR signaling	[72]
Apigenin	Sorghum bicolor	Colon cancer	Inhibiting ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter expression	[73]
Quercetin	Vigna unguiculat	Colon cancer	Inhibiting multidrug resistance gene 1 (MDR1) expression	[74]
Kaempferol	Alangium salvifolium	Ascitic lymphoma	Inhibition of dihydrofolate inhibition, thereby damaging DNA of a cancerous cell	[75]
Lupeol	Dillenia indica	Leukemia	Induces PCD	[76]
Aurantio-obtusin	Cassia tora	Cervical cancer	Inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis	[77]
Luteolin	Eclipta alba	Glioma	Down regulating NF-κBleads to DNA damage and ultimately apoptosis.	[78]
Paniculatine	Celastrus paniculatus	Breast cancer	Growth inhibition followed by apoptosis mediated by p53 and mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinases	[79]
Linalool	Cinnamomum cassia	Cervical carcinoma	Reduced expression of Her-2 oncoprotein	[80]
Carthamin	Carthamus tinctorius	Colon cancer	Caspase-3, -7, and -9 upregulation and Bcl-2 downregulation	[81]
Resveratrol	Vitis vinifera	Colorectal cancer	Regulation of p53 and inhibition of IGF-IR pathway	[82]
Fisetin	Fragaria ananassa	Hepatic cancer	Modulated mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPK) and CDK5 signaling	[83]
Withaferin A	Withania somnifer	Colon cancer	Inhibition of (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) STAT3 pathway	[84]
Ferulic acid	Ferula asafetida	Mammary carcinogenesis	Reduction in cytochrome p450 levels	[85]
Safranal	Crocus sativus	Cervical cancer	Inhibition of malignant cell line proliferation and induces apoptosis	[86]
Limonene	Citrus sinensis	Breast cancer	Induction of apoptosis through upregulation of pro-apoptotic factors and down-regulation of anti-apoptotic factors	[87]
Gingerol	Zingiber officinale	Colon cancer	G2/M cell cycle arrest, activation of PI3K/Akt pathway, and apoptosis induction	[88]
Malic acid	Actinidia deliciosa	Brain tumor	Activates pro-apoptotic genes	[89]
Podophyllotoxin	Podophyllum spp.	Testicular and breast cancer	Cell division blockage at metaphase of mitosis	[90]
Berberine	Berberis vulgaris	Colon cancer	Cell cycle arrest and synergistic effect with drugs	[91]
Combretastatin	Combretum caffrum	Leukemia	Destabilization of microtubules	[92]
Ingenol mebutate	Euphorbia peplus	Prostate cancer	Suppression of P13/Akt pathway	[93]
Genipin	Gardenia jasminoides	Medullobalstome	Increase in Bax level	[94]
Crocin	Crocus sativus	Prostate cancer	G2/M Cell cycle arrest	[95]
Bilobetin	Ginkgo biloba	Leukemia	Cell cycle arrest at G2/M	[96]
Amentoflavone	Selaginella tamariscina	Ovarian cancer	Inducing DNA damage by interfering in microtubule dynamics	[97]
Brusatol	Brucea javanica	Lung cancer	Stimulation of ROS; G0-G1 cell cycle arrest and decrease in glutathione levels	[98]
Brucea javanica oil	Brucea javanica	Hepatocellular carcinoma	Upregulation of miRNA-29b and p53 expression levels	[99]
Octahydrocurcumin	Curcuma longa	Hepatocellular carcinoma	Downregulation of murine double minute 2 (MDM2) expression levels	[100]