The Anticancer Effect of Sanguinarine: A Review

In vitro and in vivo studies have revealed that Sanguinarine has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, proapoptotic, and growth inhibitory effects on tumor cells of a variety of cancers. Previous research showed that sanguinarine induced apoptosis (cell death) and/or antiproliferative while reducing tumor cell antiangiogenic and anti-invasive properties. This paper describes various sanguinarine anti-cancer mechanisms, including inhibition of erroneously-activated signal transduction pathways, apoptosis, and tumor cell proliferation inhibition.