A review of the genus Caesalpinia L.: emphasis on the cassane and norcassane compounds and cytotoxicity effects

Many herbal remedies have been used in medical systems for the cure of diseases. One of these important applications is usage of them as cytotoxic agents for the treatment of cancers and tumors. Various studies have been conducted on several species of Caesalpinia genus including evaluation of antimicrobial, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antipsoriatic, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antibacterial, immunomodulatory and hypoglycemic activities. Some reports have shown that these plants contain phytochemicals like polyphenols, glycosides, terpenoids, saponins and flavonoids.

The aim of this study was to find species of the Caesalpinia genus containing diterpene compounds with the structure cassane and norcassane with emphasis on cytotoxic properties.

In this study, keywords including Caesalpinia genus, cytotoxic and anticancer effects, and cassane and norcassane compounds were searched in Scopus and Science Direct databases.

Thirteen Caesalpinia species were investigated for phytochemical composition and biological effects. Different plant parts of the species including leaves, seeds, stems, roots and legumes contained diterpenes. Among these species, the cytotoxic effects on different cancer cell lines have been evaluated and some had significant cytotoxic effects.

Present study show that Caesalpinia genus has valuable cytotoxic activity but further studies are needed to investigate the active components and their possible development as new anticancer drugs.