ABSTRACT
Cell growth and mitochondria have become intriguing targets for anticancer agents, inherent to a vast majority of tumors. Herbal phytochemicals that target cell growth factors and mitochondria have emerged to become a focus of drug research due to their remarkable potential in clinical applications. The potential of cell cycle regulation as a target for anticancer agents has been reinforced by the encouraging ndings that show promise in a number of cancer mutations (Figure 6.1). Cancers should be treated by agents that target multiple genes or pathways. Cancer is unlikely to be treated by single drugs that target only a single gene or pathway. This is in line with the notion that we should dene a class of anticancer drugs acting on the control of cell growth and mitochondria. The targets on cell growth regulation are of major importance from the point of view of their role in uncontrollable cell growth by small natural products. Herbal phytochemicals, especially small molecules, hold a considerable promise as potential anticancer agents that can exert inhibitory effects on apoptosis. The common inhibition of apoptosis is shown in Figure 6.2.
