Exploring anticancer properties of the phytoconstituents and comparative analysis of their chemical space parameters with USFDA-approved synthetic anticancer agents

The present review article thoroughly analyses natural products and their derived phytoconstituents as a rich source of plausible anticancer drugs. The study thoroughly explores the chemical components derived from various natural sources, thus emphasizing their unique structural characteristics and therapeutic potential as an anticancer agent. The review contains the critical chemical constituents' in-depth molecular mechanisms, their source's chemical structures and the categories. The review also comprises an exhaustive and comprehensive analysis of different chemical spacing parameters of the anticancer agents derived from natural products. It compares them with USFDA-approved synthetic anticancer drugs up to 2020, thus providing a meaningful understanding of the relationship between natural and synthetic compounds portraying the anticancer assets. The review also delves more deeply into the chemical analysis of the heterocyclic moieties from the natural product arena, illustrating the anticancer mechanisms. The present article is, therefore, expected to serve as a valuable resource for natural product and medicinal chemists, encouraging and promoting an integrated approach to exploit the potential of natural products in drug discovery development and translational research, which have a prerequisite of bench to bedside approach. The work could guide researchers toward innovative approaches for the ever-evolving field of anticancer drug discovery.