Abstract:
Medicinal plants play an important role in the development of new drugs both for
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humans and animals which act as a potential material for maintaining health. Almost 3/4 of the
herbal medicines used worldwide are discovered from local medicinal plants. Cancer is a disease in
which some of the body's cells grow uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the body.
According to WHO in 2020 nearly 10 million deaths are reported worldwide due to cancer. Many
people seek alternative complementary methods of cancer treatment because of high death rate
and serious side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Herbal medicine has become a
very safe, non toxic and easily available source of cancer treating compounds. Some plant species
belonging to Acanthaceae are useful for treatment of cancer. These species with active anticancer
activity due to phytocompounds have to be investigated for future to improve cancer therapy.