The Anticancer Potential of Van Lake Basin Plants

Abstract

For centuries, people have used plants for various needs, as well as for treating diseases. Due to the fact that synthetic drugs damage other organs of the body while treating diseases, the demand for herbal resources has been increasing in recent years. Cancer, a disease whose cases and death rates are quickly rising, is now and, the second leading cause of death just behind the cardiovascular diseases. The toxicity of modern chemotherapy and the resistance of cancer cells to anticancer agents have led the scientific world to search for new treatments and prevention methods for this insidious disease. The therapeutic properties of plants, which generally do not have significant side effects, are associated with biologically active organic compounds, and the geochemical composition of the region where they grow. Van Lake Basin has a rich plant diversity thanks to its climate, geographical features, and soil content. This region is home to many medicinal plant species used by humans but have not yet been studied, and their phytochemical structures are still not fully elucidated. Although humans have used these plants for centuries, as inherited from ancestors, studies are required to prove their therapeutic effects in vivo and in vitro. This study presents the anticancer potentials of some crucial plants (Eryngium billardieri, Cichorium intybus, Bongardia chrysogonum, Bryonia multiflora, Euphorbia macroclada, Scutellaria orientalis, Plantago major, Primula auriculata) reported to be used in treating various diseases in the Van Lake Basin by analyzing the in vitro and in vivo anticancer studies conducted with the same plants in the literature.