Herbal Medicines for Cancer Treatment: Safety and Effectiveness

Since almost 50% of an existing medicine is derived from plants, it is clear that natural sources, especially plants can be investigated for effective medicines in cancer treatment. Discord of medicines from natural compounds including plants had been a time-consuming procedure in past. However, nowadays finding active complexes of plants has been accelerated by using modern techniques. This has resulted in herbal plants recycling. The rebirth of drugs with herbal derivations especially to treat cancer and immunologic and CNS diseases is highly considerable. Now more than 60 herbal complexes are being studied as an anti-cancer medicine. Considering the fact that little is known about efficacy and safety of herbal products, and not paying attention to commonly used products setting, further research can improve appropriate use of plant products drastically.