Review Article

Potential Herbal Medicines Bioactive Compounds Against Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Review of Computational Bioinformatics Studies

Abstract

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of death from cancer worldwide. Herbal medicines have numerous benefits such as affordability, low side effects and low cytotoxicity. Bioinformatics tools or so called computer-aided drug design (CADD) have deciphered extraordinary capability in rapid and cost-effective exploration or prediction of potential alternatives such as HMs bioactive compounds. Bioactive compounds such as stigmasta-5,22-dien-3-one (targeting PIK3R1, SRC), lupeol, isomeldenin,  nimocinol, gedunin and nimbidinin (targeting Akt), luteolin (targeting EGFR) have inferred potential anti-HCC effects according to computational bioinformatics studies. Considering high anti-HCC potential of these bioactive compounds, their formulation or combinatory application is promising for efficient cancer therapy.

R.K. Kelley, T.F. Greten, Hepatocellular carcinoma—origins and outcomes, New England Journal of Medicine 385(3) (2021) 280-282.

K.A. McGlynn, J.L. Petrick, H.B. El‐Serag, Epidemiology of hepatocellular carcinoma, Hepatology 73 (2021) 4-13.

J.D. Yang, P. Hainaut, G.J. Gores, A. Amadou, A. Plymoth, L.R. Roberts, A global view of hepatocellular carcinoma: trends, risk, prevention and management, Nature reviews Gastroenterology & hepatology 16(10) (2019) 589-604.

F. Duan, Y.-Y. Wang, D.-G. Xu, J. Shi, L.-Y. Chen, L. Cui, Y.-H. Bai, Y. Xu, J. Yuan, C. Chang, Feasibility of terahertz imaging for discrimination of human hepatocellular carcinoma, World journal of gastrointestinal oncology 11(2) (2019) 153.

Z. Wu, L. He, L. Wang, L. Peng, Systematically exploring the antitumor mechanisms of core Chinese herbs on hepatocellular carcinoma: a computational study, Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2020 (2020).

F. Peng, X. Xie, C. Peng, Chinese herbal medicine-based cancer therapy: novel anticancer agents targeting MicroRNAs to regulate tumor growth and metastasis, The American Journal of Chinese Medicine 47(08) (2019) 1711-1735.

G.Y. Hung, J.L. Horng, H.J. Yen, C.Y. Lee, L.Y. Lin, Changing incidence patterns of hepatocellular carcinoma among age groups in Taiwan, J Hepatol 63(6) (2015) 1390-6.

H. Zheng, Y. Yan, J. Cheng, S. Yu, Y. Wang, Association between SOCS3 hypermethylation and HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma and effect of sex and age: A meta-analysis, Medicine (Baltimore) 100(43) (2021) e27604.

M. Tobari, E. Hashimoto, M. Taniai, K. Kodama, T. Kogiso, K. Tokushige, M. Yamamoto, N. Takayoshi, K. Satoshi, A. Tatsuo, The characteristics and risk factors of hepatocellular carcinoma in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease without cirrhosis, Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology 35(5) (2020) 862-869.

S.W. Yi, J.S. Choi, J.J. Yi, Y.h. Lee, K.J. Han, Risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma by age, sex, and liver disorder status: a prospective cohort study in Korea, Cancer 124(13) (2018) 2748-2757.

P. Johnson, Q. Zhou, D.Y. Dao, Y.M.D. Lo, Circulating biomarkers in the diagnosis and management of hepatocellular carcinoma, Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 19(10) (2022) 670-681.

L.-H. Wang, C.-F. Wu, N. Rajasekaran, Y.K. Shin, Loss of tumor suppressor gene function in human cancer: An overview, Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry 51(6) (2018) 2647-2693.

R. Wang, H. Fan, M. Sun, Z. Lv, W. Yi, Roles of BMI1 in the Initiation, Progression, and Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Technology in Cancer Research & Treatment 21 (2022) 15330338211070689.

Y.-A. Kim, K.-K. Park, S.-J. Lee, lncRNAs Act as a link between chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma, International Journal of Molecular Sciences 21(8) (2020) 2883.

L. Walcher, A.-K. Kistenmacher, H. Suo, R. Kitte, S. Dluczek, A. Strauß, A.-R. Blaudszun, T. Yevsa, S. Fricke, U. Kossatz-Boehlert, Cancer stem cells—origins and biomarkers: perspectives for targeted personalized therapies, Frontiers in Immunology 11 (2020) 1280.

N. Juaid, A. Amin, A. Abdalla, K. Reese, Z. Alamri, M. Moulay, S. Abdu, N. Miled, Anti-Hepatocellular Carcinoma Biomolecules: Molecular Targets Insights, Int J Mol Sci 22(19) (2021).

C.M. Lopes, A. Dourado, R. Oliveira, Phytotherapy and Nutritional Supplements on Breast Cancer, Biomed Res Int 2017 (2017) 7207983.

F.D.S. Feltrin, T. Agner, C. Sayer, L.M.F. Lona, Curcumin encapsulation in functional PLGA nanoparticles: A promising strategy for cancer therapies, Adv Colloid Interface Sci 300 (2022) 102582.

D. Gyawali, R. Vohra, D. Orme-Johnson, S. Ramaratnam, R.H. Schneider, A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Ayurvedic Herbal Preparations for Hypercholesterolemia, Medicina (Kaunas) 57(6) (2021).

M.E. Hernández-Caballero, J.A. Sierra-Ramírez, R. Villalobos-Valencia, E. Seseña-Méndez, Potential of Kalanchoe pinnata as a Cancer Treatment Adjuvant and an Epigenetic Regulator, Molecules 27(19) (2022).

S. Hafez Ghoran, A. Calcaterra, M. Abbasi, F. Taktaz, K. Nieselt, E. Babaei, Curcumin-Based Nanoformulations: A Promising Adjuvant towards Cancer Treatment, Molecules 27(16) (2022).

P. Liu, G. Chen, J. Zhang, A Review of Liposomes as a Drug Delivery System: Current Status of Approved Products, Regulatory Environments, and Future Perspectives, Molecules 27(4) (2022).

V. Stepanić, M. Kučerová-Chlupáčová, Review and Chemoinformatic Analysis of Ferroptosis Modulators with a Focus on Natural Plant Products, Molecules 28(2) (2023).

Y. Hu, S. Wang, X. Wu, J. Zhang, R. Chen, M. Chen, Y. Wang, Chinese herbal medicine-derived compounds for cancer therapy: a focus on hepatocellular carcinoma, J Ethnopharmacol 149(3) (2013) 601-12.

R. Yapasert, B. Sripanidkulchai, M. Teerachaisakul, K. Banchuen, R. Banjerdpongchai, Anticancer effects of a traditional Thai herbal recipe Benja Amarit extracts against human hepatocellular carcinoma and colon cancer cell by targeting apoptosis pathways, J Ethnopharmacol 254 (2020) 112732.

Z. Chen, X. Deng, Bioinformatics-based and multiscale convolutional neur al network screening of herbal medicines for improving prog nosis of liver cancer: a novel approach, Frontiers in Medicine 10 1218496.

M. Jermini, J. Dubois, P.-Y. Rodondi, K. Zaman, T. Buclin, C. Csajka, A. Orcurto, L. E Rothuizen, Complementary medicine use during cancer treatment and potential herb-drug interactions from a cross-sectional study in an academic centre, Scientific reports 9(1) (2019) 1-11.

O.N. Sekurova, O. Schneider, S.B. Zotchev, Novel bioactive natural products from bacteria via bioprospecting, genome mining and metabolic engineering, Microbial biotechnology 12(5) (2019) 828-844.

A.G. Atanasov, S.B. Zotchev, V.M. Dirsch, C.T. Supuran, Natural products in drug discovery: advances and opportunities, Nature reviews Drug discovery 20(3) (2021) 200-216.

Y. Hu, X. Bi, P. Zhao, H. Zheng, X. Huang, Cytotoxic Activities, SAR and Anti-Invasion Effects of Butylphthalide Derivatives on Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma SMMC7721 Cells, Molecules 20(11) (2015) 20312-9.

C. Kim, B. Kim, Anti-cancer natural products and their bioactive compounds inducing ER stress-mediated apoptosis: A review, Nutrients 10(8) (2018) 1021.

M.H. Krueger, Spice and Herb Use Among Cancer Patients, (2018).

M. Huang, J.-J. Lu, J. Ding, Natural products in cancer therapy: past, present and future, Natural Products and Bioprospecting 11(1) (2021) 5-13.

S. Gezici, N. Şekeroğlu, Current perspectives in the application of medicinal plants against cancer: novel therapeutic agents, Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry (Formerly Current Medicinal Chemistry-Anti-Cancer Agents) 19(1) (2019) 101-111.

D. Tewari, P. Patni, A. Bishayee, A.N. Sah, A. Bishayee, Natural products targeting the PI3K-Akt-mTOR signaling pathway in cancer: A novel therapeutic strategy, Seminars in cancer biology, Elsevier, 2019.

C.A. Dehelean, I. Marcovici, C. Soica, M. Mioc, D. Coricovac, S. Iurciuc, O.M. Cretu, I. Pinzaru, Plant-derived anticancer compounds as new perspectives in drug discovery and alternative therapy, Molecules 26(4) (2021) 1109.

S.P. Kumar, A.S. GIRIJA, J.V. Priyadharsini, Targeting NM23-H1-mediated inhibition of tumour metastasis in viral hepatitis with bioactive compounds from Ganoderma lucidum: A computational study, Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 82(2) (2020) 300-305.

J. Huang, W. Guo, F. Cheung, H.-Y. Tan, N. Wang, Y. Feng, Integrating network pharmacology and experimental models to investigate the efficacy of coptidis and scutellaria containing huanglian jiedu decoction on hepatocellular carcinoma, The American Journal of Chinese Medicine 48(01) (2020) 161-182.

C. Grigoriu, V. Varlas, G. Călinescu, A.M. Bălan, N. Bacalbașa, C.M. Gheorghe, T. Salmen, C.A. Zugravu, R.E. Bohîlțea, Phytotherapy in obstetrics - therapeutic indications, limits, and dangers, J Med Life 14(6) (2021) 748-755.

C. Colalto, What phytotherapy needs: Evidence‐based guidelines for better clinical practice, Phytotherapy research 32(3) (2018) 413-425.

O.A. Akinloye, D.I. Akinloye, M.A. Lawal, M.T. Shittu, D.S. Metibemu, Terpenoids from Azadirachta indica are potent inhibitors of Akt: validation of the anticancer potentials in hepatocellular carcinoma in male Wistar rats, Journal of Food Biochemistry 45(1) (2021) e13559.

T. Yang, Y. Chen, J. Xu, J. Li, H. Liu, N. Liu, Bioinformatics screening the novel and promising targets of curcumin in hepatocellular carcinoma chemotherapy and prognosis, BMC Complement Med Ther 22(1) (2022) 21.

S.A. Khan, T.K.W. Lee, Network-Pharmacology-Based Study on Active Phytochemicals and Molecular Mechanism of Cnidium monnieri in Treating Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Int J Mol Sci 23(10) (2022).

S. Siddiqui, S. Upadhyay, I. Ahmad, A. Hussain, M. Ahamed, Cytotoxicity of Moringa oleifera fruits on human liver cancer and molecular docking analysis of bioactive constituents against caspase‐3 enzyme, Journal of Food Biochemistry 45(5) (2021) e13720.

M. Li, H. Shang, T. Wang, S.-Q. Yang, L. Li, Huanglian decoction suppresses the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by reducing CCNB1 expression, World Journal of Gastroenterology 27(10) (2021) 939.

I. Azad, A. Jafri, T. Khan, Y. Akhter, M. Arshad, F. Hassan, N. Ahmad, A.R. Khan, M. Nasibullah, Evaluation of pyrrole-2, 3-dicarboxylate derivatives: Synthesis, DFT analysis, molecular docking, virtual screening and in vitro anti-hepatic cancer study, Journal of Molecular Structure 1176 (2019) 314-334.

E. Khan, I.Z. Ahmad, Computational identification of bioactive compounds from Cydonia oblonga Mill. against hepatocellular carcinoma by targeting pTEN and HBx-interacting protein, Journal of Molecular Modeling 28(7) (2022) 1-15.

H. Tabassum, I.Z. Ahmad, Molecular docking and dynamics simulation analysis of thymoquinone and thymol compounds from Nigella sativa L. that inhibits P38 protein: probable remedies for hepatocellular carcinoma, Medicinal Chemistry 16(3) (2020) 350-357.

H. Tang, Y. Ke, Z. Ren, X. Lei, S. Xiao, T. Bao, Z. Shi, R. Zou, T. Wu, J. Zhou, Bioinformatics analysis of differentially expressed genes in hepatocellular carcinoma cells exposed to Swertiamarin, Journal of Cancer 10(26) (2019) 6526.

K. Singh, P. Kumar, A.K. Singh, N. Singh, S. Singh, K.N. Tiwari, S. Agrawal, R. Das, A. Singh, B. Ram, A.K. Tripathi, S.K. Mishra, In silico and network pharmacology analysis of fucosterol: a potent anticancer bioactive compound against HCC, Medical Oncology 41(6) (2024) 130.

P.A. Jadhav, A.B. Thomas, M.K. Pathan, S.Y. Chaudhari, R.D. Wavhale, S.S. Chitlange, Unlocking the therapeutic potential of unexplored phytocompounds as hepatoprotective agents through integration of network pharmacology and in-silico analysis, Scientific Reports 15(1) (2025) 8425.

O. Benslama, S. Lekmine, H. Moussa, H. Tahraoui, M.S. Ola, J. Zhang, A. Amrane, Silymarin as a Therapeutic Agent for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Multi-Approach Computational Study, Metabolites 15(1) (2025) 53.

J. Liang, Y. Huang, Z. Mai, Q. Zhan, H. Lin, Y. Xie, H. Wang, Y. Liu, C. Luo, Integrating network pharmacology and experimental validation to decipher the mechanism of action of Huanglian jiedu decoction in treating atherosclerosis, Drug Design, Development and Therapy 15 (2021) 1779.

J. Wei, L. Ma, W. Liu, Y. Wang, C. Shen, X. Zhao, C. Zhao, Identification of the molecular targets and mechanisms of compound mylabris capsules for hepatocellular carcinoma treatment through network pharmacology and bioinformatics analysis, Journal of ethnopharmacology 276 (2021) 114174.

S. Lu, Z. Meng, Y. Tan, C. Wu, Z. Huang, J. Huang, C. Fu, A. Stalin, S. Guo, X. Liu, An advanced network pharmacology study to explore the novel molecular mechanism of Compound Kushen Injection for treating hepatocellular carcinoma by bioinformatics and experimental verification, BMC complementary medicine and therapies 22(1) (2022) 1-20.

Y. Luo, P. Shang, D. Li, Luteolin: a flavonoid that has multiple cardio-protective effects and its molecular mechanisms, Frontiers in Pharmacology 8 (2017) 692.

A. Rauf, M. Imran, I.A. Khan, M. ur‐Rehman, S.A. Gilani, Z. Mehmood, M.S. Mubarak, Anticancer potential of quercetin: A comprehensive review, Phytotherapy Research 32(11) (2018) 2109-2130.

C.-S. Tang, Localization of benzyl glucosinolate and thioglucosidase in Carica papaya fruit, Phytochemistry 12(4) (1973) 769-773.

F. Wang, Y. Bao, X. Shen, G. Zengin, Y. Lyu, J. Xiao, Z. Weng, Niazirin from Moringa oleifera Lam. attenuates high glucose-induced oxidative stress through PKCζ/Nox4 pathway, Phytomedicine 86 (2021) 153066.

H. Fatma, M. Jameel, A.J. Siddiqui, M. Kuddus, N.S. Buali, I. Bahrini, H.R. Siddique, Chemotherapeutic potential of lupeol against cancer in pre-clinical model: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Phytomedicine 132 (2024) 155777.

S. Suman, T. Das, R. Reddy, A. Nyakeriga, J. Luevano, D. Konwar, P. Pahari, C. Damodaran, The pro-apoptotic role of autophagy in breast cancer, British journal of cancer 111(2) (2014) 309-317.

T.M. Braga, L. Rocha, T.Y. Chung, R.F. Oliveira, C. Pinho, A.I. Oliveira, J. Morgado, A. Cruz, Biological activities of gedunin—A limonoid from the Meliaceae family, Molecules 25(3) (2020) 493.

M. Nishan, P. Subramanian, Pharmacological and non pharmacological activity of Azadirachta indica (Neem)-A review, Int J Biosci 5(6) (2014) 104-112.

Y. Yang, H. Zhou, W. Liu, J. Wu, X. Yue, J. Wang, L. Quan, H. Liu, L. Guo, Z. Wang, Ganoderic acid A exerts antitumor activity against MDA‑MB‑231 human breast cancer cells by inhibiting the Janus kinase 2/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 signaling pathway, Oncology letters 16(5) (2018) 6515-6521.

T. Benali, S. Bakrim, R. Ghchime, N. Benkhaira, N. El Omari, A. Balahbib, D. Taha, G. Zengin, M.M. Hasan, S. Bibi, Pharmacological insights into the multifaceted biological properties of quinic acid, Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Reviews 40(4) (2024) 3408-3437.

S.N. Goyal, C.P. Prajapati, P.R. Gore, C.R. Patil, U.B. Mahajan, C. Sharma, S.P. Talla, S.K. Ojha, Therapeutic potential and pharmaceutical development of thymoquinone: a multitargeted molecule of natural origin, Frontiers in pharmacology 8 (2017) 656.

V. Poroikov, Computer-aided drug design: From discovery of novel pharmaceutical agents to systems pharmacology, Biochemistry (Moscow), Supplement Series B: Biomedical Chemistry 14(3) (2020) 216-227.

M.M. Salman, Z. Al-Obaidi, P. Kitchen, A. Loreto, R.M. Bill, R. Wade-Martins, Advances in applying computer-aided drug design for neurodegenerative diseases, International journal of molecular sciences 22(9) (2021) 4688.

M. Sharma, S. Mondal, S. Bhattacharjee, N. Jabalia, Emerging Trends of Bioinformatics in Health Informatics, Computational Intelligence in Healthcare (2021) 343-367.

J. Oyelade, J. Soyemi, I. Isewon, O. Obembe, Bioinformatics, healthcare informatics and analytics: an imperative for improved healthcare system, International Journal of Applied Information System 13(5) (2015) 1-6.

A.S. Nugraha, R. Haritakun, J.M. Lambert, C.T. Dillon, P.A. Keller, Alkaloids from the root of Indonesian Annona muricata L, Nat Prod Res 35(3) (2021) 481-489.

IssueVol. 11, No. 3, 2026 -In Press- QRcode
SectionReview Article(s)
Keywords
Hepatocellular carcinoma Herbal medicines Bioactive compounds Computational studies

Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
1.
Ghasemian A, Mazarzaei A, Abdulabbas H, Rostami Chijan M, Memariani M, Karami F, Nournia E, Zarenezhad E. Potential Herbal Medicines Bioactive Compounds Against Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Review of Computational Bioinformatics Studies. Trad Integr Med. 2026;11(3).