Anticancer drug screening of natural products: In vitro cytotoxicity assays, techniques, and challenges

Natural products include several diverse compounds that have been found to be effective against cancer. Discovering anticancer compounds in nature is a multistep and complex process that requires pre-clinical and clinical studies. Only a few of the available natural products are used to treat cancer...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
Main Authors: Agustina Setiawati, Damiana Sapta Candrasari, F D. Erika Setyajati, Vincentia Krisnina Prasetyo, Dewi Setyaningsih, Yustina Sri Hartini
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2022
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.4103/2221-1691.350176
https://doaj.org/article/eb093c4835b74f42be91e21fdc315c28
Description
Summary:Natural products include several diverse compounds that have been found to be effective against cancer. Discovering anticancer compounds in nature is a multistep and complex process that requires pre-clinical and clinical studies. Only a few of the available natural products are used to treat cancer since most of them have very high complexity and low bioavailability. Therefore, the process of anticancer drug discovery requires a straightforward and effective method to assess anticancer activity using in vitro assays. This review summarizes various cell-based assays and techniques used to measure cell viability, migration, and apoptosis, focusing in particular on the principles, mechanisms, advantages, and disadvantages of each assay to provide a preliminary platform for cancer drug discovery.