Mechanism of Anticancer Activity of Compounds Isolated from Two Species of Ziziphus (Z. jujube and Z. mauritiana)

Medicinal plants have been used to treat diseases for centuries. One group of such plants is Ziziphus species belonging to Rhamnaceae family. The extracts from plants of this genus has been found beneficial for the treatment of cancer caused by high production of reactive oxygen species resulting from different oxidative stress mediated conditions. The mechanism of anticancer activity of two different species of this plant (Z.jujube and Z.mauritiana) have been discussed in this review. The constituents of this plant include the flavonoids, triterpenes, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, copper and polysaccharides such as reducing and non-reducing sugars. The underlying mechanisms of both species include the (Tumor protein P53) P53, (signal transducer and activator of transcription) STAT, (Matrix metalloproteinases) MMPs, (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) CRISPR and flavonoids and triterpenic acid mechanisms. The effects of the extract on different cells lines in both in vitro and in vivo models have been studied by observing the induction of apoptosis and reduction in angiogenesis leading to reduction in progression and proliferation of cancer cell lines. The biological properties of Ziziphus include the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer and hepato-protective characteristics.