Medicinal Chemistry

Gugulipid, an Extract of Ayurveda Medicine Plant Commiphora Mukul as a Potent Agent for Cancer Chemoprevention and Cancer Chemotherapy

Abstract

Michelle Xiao and Dong Xiao

Gugulipid (GL), an extract of Commiphora mukul, has been safely used for thousands of years in the Indian Ayurveda medicine practice for the treatment of different ailments and has been used recently in many clinical trials that focused on its cholesterol-lowering effect. GL has recently been paid great attention for its cancer chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic potential. Z- and E-Guggulsterone have been identified as the major active components of GL. Studies have shown that GL as well as Guggulsterones can inhibit cancer growth in vitro and in vivo and lead to prevention of cancer initiation, promotion and progression. Although the action mechanisms of GL are not completely understood, GL has been revealed as a multitargeted cancer chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agent. The increased understanding of the anti-cancer activity of GL and its molecular targets would allow us to improve its efficacies in different types of human cancers by single and/or combination strategies.