Puerarin (Pue), a key isoflavone from Pueraria lobata, has been traditionally used in Chinese medicine forcardiovascular, cerebrovascular, neurodegenerative, metabolic, and hepatic diseases. Recent studies indicate its anticancer potential across various malignancies. This review explores the current literature onPue’s anticancer activities, mechanisms of action, and molecular targets. Preclinical in vitro and in vivostudies suggest Pue’s effectiveness; however, challenges including standardization, selectivity, safety,and delivery hinder clinical translation. Specifically, dose optimization and rigorous standardizationare needed to fully elucidate Pue’s mechanisms, particularly in hormone-dependent cancers. The development of advanced drug delivery systems, such as nanosuspensions, nanoemulsions, and nanoparticles,is essential to improve Pue’s poor water solubility and stability, and to enhance targeted delivery. Studieshave shown that Pue can inhibit cancer cell proliferation, induce apoptosis, and suppress metastasis invarious cancer cell lines, including breast, colon, lung, and ovarian cancers. Pue’s anticancer mechanismsinvolve modulating multiple signaling pathways, including nuclear factor-jB (NF-jB), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), Janus kinase 2/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (JAK2/STAT3), and Wnt signaling (Wnt), and targeting key molecules such as Caspases, Bcl-2-associated X protein (BAX), B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and dual-specificity phosphatase 1 (DUSP1). Pue has also been found to enhance the efficacy of conventional chemotherapeuticagents such as cisplatin and oxaliplatin, and to overcome drug resistance. Overall, Pue shows promise as a multifaceted anticancer agent, which merits further investigation. This review provides a comprehensive overview of Pue’s anticancer effects, emphasizing its potential to guide future cancer treatment strategies.
关键词:
化疗增敏;葛根;异黄酮;葛;多药耐药性;野葛;肿瘤微环境
Keywords:
Project Supported:
The authors would like to express their gratitude to Professor Mahmoud Reza Jaafari of Nanotechnology Research Center at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences for their comments on the manuscript. This research received no external funding.
Aida Alizamir a, Masoud Khanaghaei b, Farshad Mirzavi c, Ali Nokhodchi d, Laleh Ghavami e, Bita Taghizadeh f,?. Puerarin as a multifaceted anticancer agent: Mechanisms, targets, and therapeutic potential across multiple cancers[J]. Chinese Herbal Medicines (CHM),2026,18(3):643-661
