ANTI-CANCER PROPERTIES OF LOCALLY AVAILABLE NATURAL PRODUCTS IN MALAYSIA AGAINST COLORECTAL CANCER

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) has become a significant worldwide health issue among Malaysians. It has become the second most common disease among men and women, with an increased mortality rate in recent years. CRC cases can be reduced with a healthy diet by increasing natural product intake. However, today most of the commercialized natural products for CRC prevention are imported and costly, which makes 80% of the Malaysian population could hardly afford them due to low and middle household income. Therefore, the present study summarizes the list of local tropical natural products that have remarkable medicinal properties effective on CRC, which are easily accessible for Malaysians, ways to consume them at home, and the economic prospects. This narrative review reviews the latest natural products' properties against CRC, excluding the plants examined in previous studies. The keywords utilized to identify the relevant articles were “Malaysia," "Colorectal Cancer," “Natural products," “Anticancer," "Antidiarrheal," "Mucositis," and "Vomit/Nausea" through PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. Conclusion: In conclusion, the locally available natural products have excellent medicinal properties against colorectal cancer with enormous potential medicinal properties in treating CRC and chemotherapy-induced toxicity that Malaysians can use to improve their well-being.