Emerging role of terpenoids for the treatment of cancer: A review

Aim Terpenes are natural compounds found in several organisms belonging to the animal and plant kingdom, therefore, constitute the largest class of natural products and were a rich reservoir of candidate compounds for drug discovery. The review aims to focus on that the extensive is still needed to explore the anti-cancer components from natural products may led to the development of variety of derived terpenoidal moieties. Method Literature survey has been carried out to determine the overwelhming potential of terpenoids. Result The present article provides an overview of development of isoprene unit and the generation of the various types of terpenes which exhibits pharmacological potential. The anti-cancer activity of terpenoids appears promising and will potentially open more opportunities for cancer therapy. However, current studies are restricted to descriptive findings and some of them lack mechanistic insights and systematic structure--activity relationship studies. Future efforts into the systematic identification of the targets of terpenoids are believed to increase chances of gaining breakthrough insights in the field. Conclusion There is still hope that new therapeutic options for the control of cancer and any other painful syndromes will be developed from terpenes, which were proved to be great candidates for cancer therapeutics.