According to the latest data, the annual mortality rate of liver cancer in China ranks the second among malignant tumors, and it has become one of the most fatal cancers in urban and rural areas. This article starts with the active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicines for liver cancer to summarize the relevant literature at home and abroad, with the hope to provide theoretical references for the development of traditional Chinese medicines against liver cancer. The results show that the active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicines such as Chinese herbal extracts, flavonoids, polysaccharides, alkaloids, saponins, volatile oils, terpenes, quinones, phenols, bioenzymes, and protein components are the entry points, mainly by inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells, blocking the cancer cell cycle, inhibiting the invasion and metastasis of cancer cells, regulating signal pathways, regulating vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) and reactive oxygen species(ROS), etc. to play the effects against liver cancer. It can be seen that the active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine with coordinated intervention effects at multiple levels and multiple targets are expected to become ideal medicines for the treatment of liver cancer.
Keywords: active ingredients; liver cancer; mechanism of action; traditional Chinese medicine.