Abstract :Abstract
Cancer is a dreadful disease whose pathological roots lie deep inside the molecular pathways governing different biochemical process. Oncogenic cells divide abnormally in an uncontrolled manner and invade surrounding tissues/organs. Major Treatment strategies for cancer include chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. Anti-cancerous chemical agents used for the treatment often met with serious repercussions. Herbal compounds capable of preventing or inhibiting the process of carcinogenesis represent a better option for obtaining effective anti-cancerous therapeutics. They act at multiple molecular targets involving DNA, enzymes, and cytoskeleton (microtubules) thereby blocking uncontrolled cell division. Taxol, vincristine, vinblastine, topotecan, camptothecin derivatives and etoposide derived from podophyllotoxin are the good examples of such compounds with proven anti-cancerous activity. Numerous natural products such as resveratrol, silvestrol and betulinic acid with promising antineoplastic activities are already in different phases of clinical trials. Over all there is direct medical application of herbal compounds to serve as chemical models or templates for the design, synthesis, and semi-synthesis of novel substances with potential to block cancer development and progression.