Potential use of sea cucumber compounds in cancer treatment

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Abstract

New effective tumor-specific and patient-safe drugs are in demand for cancer treatment. Various classes of substances from holothurians (sea cucumbers) have a number of unique structural properties that provide their high cytotoxicity and other anticancer activities. Until recently, the main attention of researchers was focused on triterpene glycosides (TGs), primarily isolated from commercially used species of sea cucumbers. TGs have pronounced anticancer activity, but in many cases cause side effects. The aim of this review was to analyze data on the anticancer effects of the most studied classes of compounds isolated from sea cucumbers (TGs, proteins and peptides, sphingolipids, polysaccharides), including species that are not used, their mechanisms of action, and approaches to ensuring their safe use in anticancer therapy. The analysis revealed high anticancer activity of the studied compounds against a wide range of tumors, which is performed largely through different mechanisms. The safety of using TGs increases when combined with some compounds of other chemical classes, which is manifested in the absence of a significant side effect on healthy cells. High efficacy and safety of experiments using a wide range of compounds isolated from sea cucumbers demonstrate that they are promising candidates for anticancer drugs.

Keywords

cancer therapy / holothurians / polysaccharides / proteins / sphingolipids / triterpene glycosides

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