Honokiol and its analogues as anticancer compounds: Current mechanistic insights and structure-activity relationship
Prasher P. Fatima R. Sharma M. Tynybekov B. Alshahrani A.M. Ateşşahin D.A. Sharifi-Rad J. Calina D.
1 December 2023Elsevier Ireland Ltd
Chemico-Biological Interactions
2023#386
Lignans are plant-derived polyphenolic compounds with a plethora of biological applications. Also, regarded as phytoestrogens, the lignans offer a variety of health benefits of which the anti-cancer effects are the most attractive. Honokiol is a lignan isolated from various parts of trees belonging to the genus Magnolia. The bioactivity of honokiol is attributed to its characteristic physical properties, which include small size and the presence of two phenolic groups that may interact with proteins in cell membranes via hydrophobic interactions, aromatic pi orbital co-valency, and hydrogen bonding. The hydrophobicity of honokiol enables its rapid dissolution in lipids and the crossing of physiological barriers, including the blood-brain barrier and cerebrospinal fluid. These factors contribute towards the high bioavailability of honokiol which further support its candidature in medicinal research. Therefore, the anticancer properties of honokiol are of particular interest as many of the contemporary anticancer drugs suffer from bioavailability drawbacks, which necessitates the identification and development of novel candidate molecules directed as anticancer chemotherapeutics. The antioncogenic profile of honokiol also arises from the regulation of various signalling pathways associated with oncogenesis, arresting of the cell cycle by regulation of cyclic proteins, upregulation of epithelial markers and downregulation of mesenchymal markers leading to the inhibition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and preventing the metastasis by restricting cell migration and invasion due to the downregulation of matrix-metalloproteinases. In this review, we discuss the anticancer properties of honokiol.
Apoptosis , Cancer , Honokiol , Molecular mechanisms , Signalling pathways , Structure-anticancer activity relationship
Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи
Department of Chemistry, University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Energy Acres, Dehradun, 248007, India
Department of Chemistry, Uttaranchal University, Arcadia Grant, Dehradun, 248007, India
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Department of Biodiversity and Bioresources, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
Fırat University, Baskil Vocational School, Department of Plant and Animal Production, Elazıg, 23100, Turkey
Facultad de Medicina, Universidad del Azuay, Cuenca, Ecuador
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, Craiova, 200349, Romania
Department of Chemistry
Department of Chemistry
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
Department of Clinical Pharmacy
Fırat University
Facultad de Medicina
Department of Clinical Pharmacy
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026