ABSTRACT
Plant extracts and natural compounds purified from plants have been used by humans for many centuries for the treatment and alleviation of a variety of inflammation-related diseases, including cancer. Eastern medicine, viz., traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and the Indian ayurvedic system of medicine, continue to prescribe complex mixtures of herbs and herbal extracts for the treatment of cancer. Recent research has shown that a mechanism-based approach that targets the means by which cancer cells prosper has significant advantages over the current methods of cancer treatment, including chemotherapy, with their attendant adverse effects. The regulation of the cell cycle (cell survival, proliferation, and death) requires the integration of a myriad of cell-signaling factors, including those that direct the transcription of genes coding for integral cell proteins. Nuclear factor (NF)-
κB is a transcription factor that regulates the expression of genes involved in cancer and other diseases.
