Recent progress in doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity and protective potential of natural products.

BACKGROUND: As an anthracycline antibiotic, doxorubicin (DOX) is one of the most potent and widely used chemotherapeutic agents for various types of solid tumors. Unfortunately, clinical application of this drug results in severe side effects of cardiotoxicity.

PURPOSE: We aim to review the research focused on elimination or reduction of DOX cardiotoxicity without affecting its anticancer efficacy by natural products.

METHODS: This study is based on pertinent papers that were retrieved by a selective search using relevant keywords in PubMed and ScienceDirect. The literature mainly focusing on natural products and herb extracts with therapeutic efficacies against experimental models both in vitro and in vivo was identified.

RESULTS: Current evidence revealed that multiple molecules and signaling pathways, such as oxidative stress, iron metabolism, and inflammation, are associated with DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. Based on these knowledge, various strategies were proposed, and thousands of compounds were screened. A number of natural products and herb extracts demonstrated potency in limiting DOX cardiotoxicity toward cultured cells and experimental animal models.

CONCLUSIONS: Though a panel of natural products and herb extracts demonstrate protective effects on DOX-induced cardiotoxicity in cells and animal models, their therapeutic potentials for clinical needs further investigation.