Abstract
Tradicional folk medicine ofters a wealth of knowledge concerning the favouraable effects of certain plant extracts in the prevention of cancer tumours and as adjuvants to therapy. Current pharmacological research is intensively concerned with evaluation of phytochemical substances as related to known molecular mechanisms, selection of incipient and evolved tumours and with focus on those natural substances that influence complex changes in the process sof carcinogenesis.
Several thousand samplex of plant substances were selected, stored and tested for their possible use in cancer therapy. Existing results confirm the advancement of this research concept.
Certain phytochemicals such as epigalloepicatechingallates, resveratrols, curcumins, sulphoraphan, isoflavonoids, lycopen, AHCC have been successfully applied in the prevention of cancer and as an adjuvant durin standard therapy. The isolation of a remedial agent of plant origin is expected in future.