Research Progress on the Mechanisms of Artemisinin and its Derivatives’ Anticancer Activity

Artemisinin is a sesquiterpene lactone compound extracted from sweet wormwood Artemisia annua L,which contains the specific endoperoxide bridge. Recently,Artemisinin and its derivatives have been found to inhibit the growth of many kinds of solid tumors and the proliferation of many kinds of tumor cells and induce tumor cells to apoptosis. But,their anti-tumor mechanisms are not clearly known. Now,we review research progress on the mechanisms of artemisinin and its derivatives' anticancer activity,including the effects of reactive oxygen species,anti-angiogenesis,multidrug-resistance,drug resistance gene, apoptosis induction,oncosis induction.