Unlocking the Anticancer Potential of Patchouli Leaves - Molecular Mechanisms and Translational Perspectives

Sep 22, 2026

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of global mortality, with incidence rising due to population growth, aging, lifestyle factors, and environmental exposures. Despite progress in diagnosis and therapy, cancer care is constrained by drug resistance, limited selectivity, and treatment-related toxicity. This review emphasizes patchouli leaves (Pogostemon cablin) as a natural product source of anticancer agents. It synthesizes experimental and preclinical evidence, focusing on molecular mechanisms and translational relevance, including apoptosis, cell-cycle control, oxidative stress, and oncogenic signaling, and highlights research gaps for clinical translation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

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Pages28

Reading Time1 h 11 min

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1. Introduction

Review Unlocking the Anticancer Potential of Patchouli Leaves: Molecular Mechanisms and Translational Perspectives Elshan Musazade 1,2, Lizhu Qin 1, Fengshuo Yu 1, Nan Li 1, Liquan Guo 1, * and Chunyu Zhang 3, * Academic Editors: Laura De Martino, Armando Zarrelli and Yajun Zheng Received: 9 July 2026 Revised: 7 August 2026 Accepted: 16 August 2026 Published: 17 August 2026 Copyright: © 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. 1 College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China; [elshan.musazade1@gmail.com](elshan.musazade1@gmail.com) (E.M.); [m18978026670@163.com](m18978026670@163.com) (L.Q.); [15947877288@163.com](15947877288@163.com) (F.Y.); [13504494295@163.com](13504494295@163.com) (N.L.) 2 Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China 3 School of Food and Biology, Changchun Vocational University, Changchun 130033, China * Correspondence: [guolq948@nenu.edu.cn](guolq948@nenu.edu.cn) (L.G.); [zhangcy219@nenu.edu.cn](zhangcy219@nenu.edu.cn) (C.Z.) Abstract Cancer remains one of the leading causes of global mortality, with its incidence continuing to rise due to population growth, aging, lifestyle factors, and environmental exposures. Despite significant advances in early diagnosis and therapeutic strategies, the clinical management of cancer is still hindered by drug resistance, limited selectivity, and treatmentrelated toxicity. Consequently, increasing attention has been directed toward natural products as sources of novel anticancer agents with improved efficacy and reduced adverse effects. Pogostemon cablin (patchouli), a medicinal plant widely used in traditional medicine, has emerged as a promising candidate owing to its diverse bioactive constituents and broad pharmacological properties. This review systematically summarizes and critically evaluates current evidence on the anticancer potential of patchouli leaves, with particular emphasis on molecular mechanisms and translational relevance. Based on available experimental and preclinical studies, patchouli and its major phytochemicals exhibit notable anticancer activity against a wide range of malignancies, including endometrial, ovarian, liver, skin, nasopharyngeal, prostate, hematological, colorectal, and lung cancers. Mechanistically, these effects are primarily associated with the modulation of apoptosis, cell cycle regulation, oxidative stress, and key oncogenic signaling pathways, as well as potential synergistic interactions with conventional chemotherapeutic agents. Overall, this review highlights the therapeutic promise of patchouli leaves as a source of anticancer agents, identifies current knowledge gaps, and outlines future research directions to facilitate their development and clinical translation. Keywords: patchouli leaves; Pogostemon cablin; anticancer activity; molecular mechanisms; translational oncology 1. Introduction Cancer remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with an estimated 19.3 million new cases and nearly 10.0 million deaths reported in 2020 . In Indonesia alone, approximately 396,941 new cancer cases and 234,131 cancer-related deaths were recorded during the same year [1] . Despite advances in cancer-specific treatment strategies, conventional therapies, including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and targeted therapy, remain the primary treatment modalities [2,3] . However, these approaches are frequently associated with serious adverse effects, including bone marrow suppression, gastrointestinal disorders, cardiotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, and the development of therapeutic resistance, all of which limit treatment efficacy and compromise patients’

FAQs

Why are natural products increasingly studied for anticancer therapy?

Natural products offer structural diversity, broad biological activities, and relatively favorable safety profiles. They contribute many approved drugs and anticancer agents, motivating continued medicinal plant research.

What anticancer effects of patchouli leaves are highlighted in the review?

Patchouli and its major phytochemicals show notable anticancer activity against multiple malignancies, including endometrial, ovarian, liver, skin, nasopharyngeal, prostate, hematological, colorectal, and lung cancers.

Which molecular mechanisms are mainly linked to patchouli’s anticancer potential?

The review associates patchouli effects with modulation of apoptosis, cell-cycle regulation, oxidative stress, and key oncogenic signaling pathways, with possible synergistic interactions with conventional chemotherapeutic agents.

Sep 22, 2026

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