Tumour angiogenesis is the formation of new blood vessels to support the growth of a tumour. This process is critical for tumour progression and metastasis, making it an attractive approach to cancer therapy. Natural products derived from plants, animals or microorganisms exert anti-angiogenic properties and can be used to inhibit tumour growth and progression. In this review, we comprehensively report on the current status of natural products against tumour angiogenesis from four perspectives until March 2023: (1) the role of pro-angiogenic factors and antiangiogenic factors in tumour angiogenesis; (2) the development of anti-tumour angiogenesis therapy (monoclonal antibodies, VEGFR-targeted small molecules and fusion proteins); (3) the summary of anti-angiogenic natural agents, including polyphenols, polysaccharides, alkaloids, terpenoids, saponins and their mechanisms of action, and (4) the future perspectives of anti-angiogenic natural products (bioavailability improvement, testing of dosage and side effects, combination use and discovery of unique natural-based compounds). Our review aims to better understand the potential of natural products for drug development in inhibiting tumour angiogenesis and further aid the effective transition of these outcomes into clinical trials.
Keywords: VEGFR-2 inhibitors; natural products; phytochemicals; targeted chemotherapy; tumour angiogenesis.
© 2023 The Authors. British Journal of Pharmacology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Pharmacological Society.