Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. - anticancer properties and phytochemicals: current trends and future perspectives

Jiao Wang; Neeraj Rani; Seema Jakhar; Rakesh Redhu; Sanjiv Kumar; Sachin Kumar; Sanjeev Kumar; Bhagwati Devi; Jesus Simal-Gandara; Bairong Shen; Rajeev K Singla

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1236123

Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. - anticancer properties and phytochemicals: current trends and future perspectives

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Oct 4:14:1236123. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1236123. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jiao Wang¹, Neeraj Rani^{2

3}, Seema Jakhar⁴, Rakesh Redhu⁴, Sanjiv Kumar³, Sachin Kumar³, Sanjeev Kumar³, Bhagwati Devi², Jesus Simal-Gandara⁵, Bairong Shen¹, Rajeev K Singla^{1

6}

Affiliations

¹ Joint Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence for Critical Care Medicine, Department of Critical Care Medicine and Institutes for Systems Genetics, Frontiers Science Center for Disease-related Molecular Network, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
² Shri Baba Mastnath Institute of Pharmaceutical Science and Research, Baba Mastnath University, Asthal Bohar Rohtak, Haryana, India.
³ Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chaudhary Bansi Lal University, Bhiwani, Haryana, India.
⁴ Geeta Institute of Pharmacy, Geeta University, Panipat, Haryana, India.
⁵ Universidade de Vigo, Nutrition and Bromatology Group, Analytical Chemistry and Food Science Department, Faculty of Science, Ourense, Spain.
⁶ School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, India.

Abstract

Cancer is a leading cause of mortality worldwide, and conventional cancer therapies such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy often result in undesirable and adverse effects. Natural products have emerged as a promising alternative for cancer treatment, with comparatively fewer side effects reported. Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill., a member of the Cactaceae family, contains a diverse array of phytochemicals, including flavonoids, polyphenols, betalains, and tannins, which have been shown to exhibit potent anticancer properties. Various parts of the Opuntia plant, including the fruits, stems/cladodes, and roots, have demonstrated cytotoxic effects against malignant cell lines in numerous studies. This review comprehensively summarizes the anticancer attributes of the phytochemicals found in Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill., highlighting their potential as natural cancer prevention and treatment agents. Bibliometric metric analysis of PubMed and Scopus-retrieved data using VOSviewer as well as QDA analysis provide further insights and niche to be explored. Most anticancer studies on Opuntia ficus-indica and its purified metabolites are related to colorectal/colon cancer, followed by melanoma and breast cancer. Very little attention has been paid to leukemia, thyroid, endometrial, liver, and prostate cancer, and it could be considered an opportunity for researchers to explore O. ficus-indica and its metabolites against these cancers. The most notable mechanisms expressed and validated in those studies are apoptosis, cell cycle arrest (G0/G1 and G2/M), Bcl-2 modulation, antiproliferative, oxidative stress-mediated mechanisms, and cytochrome c. We have also observed that cladodes and fruits of O. ficus-indica have been more studied than other plant parts, which again opens the opportunity for the researchers to explore. Further, cell line-based studies dominated, and very few studies were related to animal-based experiments. The Zebrafish model is another platform to explore. However, it seems like more in-depth studies are required to ascertain clinical utility of this biosustainable resource O. ficus-indica.

Keywords: Opuntia ficus-indica; antioxidant; cancer; phytochemicals; prickly pear.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32070671, 32270690), the Covid-19 research projects of West China Hospital Sichuan University (Grant no. HX-2019-nCoV-057).