ABSTRACT
Imbalance in the immune system functions is associated with several diseases, including inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases, and cancer. Several synthetic drugs that can target the immune system have been designed and in use. However, these drugs do have certain limitations and may pose adverse reactions. Hence, the search for newer immunotherapeutics is gaining attention in the recent past. Immunomodulators are the substances that regulate the efficiency of the immune responses. A variety of immunomodulators derived from traditionally used plant sources have been developed that can specifically inhibit or enhance the functions of different immune cells such as cytotoxic T lymphocytes, lymphocytes, macrophages, natural killer (NK) cells, and neutrophils. The immunomodulators are particularly beneficial in designing immune therapies against various disorders. Several metabolites such as polysaccharides, flavonoids, alkaloids, and terpenoids derived from plants have been used to treat immune disorders and infections due to their immune stimulatory activity. Certain studies have demonstrated the efficacy of phytocompounds like capsaicin, colchicine, capsaicin, curcumin, epigallocatechol-3-gallate, genistein, 420quercetin, resveratrol, and andrographolide as immunostimulators in cancer. This chapter discusses the various immunomodulatory plant metabolites that could be developed into cancer immunotherapeutics based on their potential preclinical and clinical leads. The key signaling pathways that are targeted by these immunomodulatory compounds are also elaborated.
