Ginsenosides in cancer: Proliferation, metastasis, and drug resistance
Yi Yang, Yi Nan, Yuhua Du, Wenjing Liu, Ning Na, Guoqing Chen, Qian Gu, Ling Yuan
Abstract
Ginseng, the dried root of Panax ginseng C.A. Mey., is widely used in Chinese herbal medicine. Ginsenosides, the primary active components of ginseng, exhibit diverse anticancer functions through various mechanisms, such as inhibiting tumor cell proliferation, promoting apoptosis, and suppressing cell invasion and migration. In this article, the mechanism of action of 20 ginsenoside subtypes in tumor therapy and the research progress of multifunctional nanosystems are reviewed, in order to provide reference for clinical prevention and treatment of cancer. • Ginsenosides are effective anti-tumor active components. • 20 subtypes of ginsenosides have great antitumor effect. • The hub gene targets of ginsenosides are enriched in the pathways in cancer, metastasis and cell apoptosis. • Ginsenoside-based multifunctional nanosystems have unique advantages in the prevention and treatment of tumors.