Harnessing the power of Calculus bovis: Anti-cancer properties and Wnt pathway modulation in hepatocellular carcinoma

Table 1 Chinese herbal medicines with anticancer properties

Herb name	Active compound	Biological action	Cancer types treated	Ref.
Licorice root (glycyrrhizia uralensis)	Glycyrrhizin	Antioxidant activity, interferon production, T-cell activation in the liver, inhibition of Notch signaling pathway	HCC, triple negative breast cancer	[6,7]
Tripterygium wilfordii	Triptolide and celastrol	Tumour necrosis factor-α-induced apoptosis, suppression of NF-B activation, farnesoid X receptor antagonist, increase in autophagic flux	HCC, non-small-cell lung cancer	[8-10]
Curcuma longa L	Curcumin	Inhibition of extracellular matrix secretion, modulation of MMPs expression, inhibition of M2 polarization of tumor macrophages	Liver cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer	[11-14]
Stephania tetrandra S	Tetrandrine	MMP2 and MMP9 downregulation, apoptosis induction	Cervical cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, lung cancer	[15-17]
Coptis chinensis	Berberine	Inhibition of activator protein-1 and cyclooxygenase-2, inhibition of interleukin-6/Janus Kinase/Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 pathway, inhibition of Hedgehog signaling pathway	Colon cancer, gastric cancer	[18-20]
Sophora alopecuraides L	Oxymatrine	Inhibition of mitophagy-activated NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 inflammasome, modulation of tumor microenvironment, Inhibition of myelocytomatosis proto-oncogene/programmed cell death ligand 1 pathway	Colorectal cancer, melanoma	[21,22]
Radix salviae miltiorrhizae	Salvianolic acid	Inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT signaling pathway, modulation of epithelial-mesenchymal-transition via AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin pathway	Gastric cancer, lung cancer	[23,24]

MMP: Matrix metalloproteinase; AKT: Protein kinase B; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma.