The Role of Natural Products in the Improvement of Cancer-Associated Cachexia

Abstract

The enormous library of natural products and herbal medicine prescriptions presents endless research avenues. However, the lack of research evidence and trials on cancer-induced cachexia limit the therapeutic potential of natural products. Cancer-induced cachexia is a systemic wasting syndrome characterized by continuous body weight loss with skeletal muscle and adipose tissue atrophy. Cancer cachexia is a problem in itself and reduces the quality of life by lessening the treatment efficacy of anticancer drugs. This review summarizes single natural product extracts for cancer-induced cachexia, not compounds derived from natural products and herbal medicine prescriptions. This article also discusses the effect of natural products on cachexia induced by anticancer drugs and the role of AMPK in cancer-induced cachexia. The article included the mice model used in each experiment to encourage researchers to utilize animal models for research on cancer-induced cachexia in the future.