PLANTS IN CANCER TREATMENT
Plants with Cytotoxic Activity
Less than 10% of the world’s biodiversity has been evaluated for potential biological activity, therefore there is great potential for the dicovery of useful natural compounds, the challenge being how to access this natural chemical diversity (Cragg & Newman, 2005)
Current Research
01 Drug Resistance in Cancerous Cells
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Similar to the way that pathogens, bacteria for example, can evolve resistance to medication, in this case antibiotics, cancerous cells in a patient can adapt to the chemicals used against them. A phenomenon called multi-drug resistance – a cellular resistance against multiple structurally unrelated anticancer drugs – is one of the main obstacles in chemotherapy. This among other things happens through drug efflux mediated by the cancer cells' ABC-transporters or by bypassing apoptosis, a process that would usually lead to malfunctioning cells being eliminated. Natural compounds – such as phytochemicals – can enhance the cytotoxic activity of cancer medications on their target cells as well as reverse multi-drug resistance by diverse mechanisms of cell-interactions and chemosensitizing properties.[1]
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[1] (Hamed, Abdel-Azim, Shams, & Hammouda, 2019)
02 Conservation Efforts
In terms of biodiversity conservation, raising awarenes plays a significan role. A central emphasis lies on educating individuals, the consumers, about the consequences of their actions. Organizations like WWF (Living Planet Report 2022) or the Royal Botanical Gardens (State of the World’s Plants and Fungi 2023), and others actively contribute to public education on the current biodiversity crisis. However, the impact extends beyond individual awareness, it encompasses the roles of companies, states, and the scientific community.
The IUCN provides crucial data and monitoring efforts focused on threatened species and global initiatives, such as the United Nations Climate Conventions (COP), have sought to address biodiversity concerns. However, their effectiveness remains a subject of debate. In some countries, efforts have been made to integrate biodiversity goals into their national development strategies and legal frameworks (see figure 3).
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The conservation of endangered species can take place in situ, within their natural habitats through national parks and other areas of protection, or ex situ, as seen for example in botanical gardens. Additionally, in biomedical research, protection of these species can mean that different extraction methods and synthesis approaches should be explored. The complex nature of biodiversity conservation emphasizes the importance of collaborative efforts across various sectors to address this critical global issue.
03 Screening of Natural Products
Natural products (NPs) have been neglected in screenings for medically active compounds over the last years, as their complex chemical structures besides their advantages pose significant difficulties. They are often identified on a phenotypic basis and unraveling the underlying molecular processes prove to be time-consuming and difficult. Advancements in screening technologies, such as gene editing tools and an improved understanding of biosynthetic pathways for natural products, have paved the way for extensive future research and increased screening possibilities. [1]
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[1] (Atanasov et al., 2021)
Statistics & Maps
Threatened Species Recorded over the Last Decades
The graph has been generated with data from the official IUCN Red List:
Table 2 - Changes in numbers of species in the threatened categories (CR, EN, VU) from 1996 to 2022.
It is noteworthy, however, that the data cannot directly be interpreted as an increase in threatened species overall, rather it represents the IUCNs increased effort in assessing a larger number of species.