The roles of traditional Chinese herbal medications in regulating mitochondrial activity to reverse cancer

摘要

Cancer was gradually regarded as a metabolic disease,which might be linked to impairment of mitochondrial function.There are really some essential differences between the mitochondria of normal and cancer cells,which might become promising target for cancer chemotherapy.According to western pharmacology,a known target was needed for drug development.Unfortunately,the number of therapeutic agents relating to the mitochondrion are severely limited because of lacking of knowledge about mitochondrial biology.Unlike the“Western Medicine”,some traditional Chinese herbal medicine(TCHM)might be prone to targeting mitochondria despite the lack of precise molecular mechanisms.If it is the case,we might be able to screen and identify active anti-cancer drugs from traditional Chinese therapeutics by using mitochondrial functional assay.In this review,we would give an overview of the effect of TCHM on the mitochondrion,and the challenges and breakthroughs remaining in cancer treatment.