Anticancer properties of beta-caryophyllene and d-limonene terpenes: A review

Terpenes are a structurally diverse family of secondary metabolites found mostly in plants and microorganisms. Beta-caryophyllene and d-limonene are abundant in aromatic medicinal plants. Beta- caryophyllene can be sourced from clove and cannabis amongst others, and d-limonene is abundant in the Cit...

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Main Authors: Ololade S. Gbadebo, Elizabeth D. Oke, Felix A. Ajibuwa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-04-01
Series:Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/apjtb.apjtb_7_25
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author Ololade S. Gbadebo
Elizabeth D. Oke
Felix A. Ajibuwa
author_facet Ololade S. Gbadebo
Elizabeth D. Oke
Felix A. Ajibuwa
author_sort Ololade S. Gbadebo
collection DOAJ
description Terpenes are a structurally diverse family of secondary metabolites found mostly in plants and microorganisms. Beta-caryophyllene and d-limonene are abundant in aromatic medicinal plants. Beta- caryophyllene can be sourced from clove and cannabis amongst others, and d-limonene is abundant in the Citrus genera. Apart from their use in agriculture, cosmetics, and food industries, these terpenes possess a wide range of therapeutic activities, including antimicrobial, analgesic, and anticancer activities. This review discusses the anticancer effects of these two compounds against malignant tumors including breast, lung, gastrointestinal, bone, blood, endometrial, and bladder cancer. Beta-caryophyllene induces apoptosis and prevents proliferation and metastasis through the downregulation of HSP60, HTRA, survivin, XIAP, Bcl-xL, and Bcl-2 and the upregulation of caspase 3, annexin V, p21, Bad, Bak, and Bax. The anticancer activity is also mediated by G1/M arrest, ROS induction, and JAK1/STAT activation. d-Limonene exerts its anticancer effects by upregulating autophagy-linked genes, Bax, and caspase 3 and downregulating cyclin D1 and Bcl-2. These compounds also elicit synergistic effects upon co-administration with anticancer drugs and show great prospects as useful agents in the fight against cancer.
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publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
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series Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
spelling doaj-art-0683c2fea72e46ae8f1acae9ede048552025-08-20T02:11:01ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsAsian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine2221-16912588-92222025-04-0115412914010.4103/apjtb.apjtb_7_25Anticancer properties of beta-caryophyllene and d-limonene terpenes: A reviewOlolade S. GbadeboElizabeth D. OkeFelix A. AjibuwaTerpenes are a structurally diverse family of secondary metabolites found mostly in plants and microorganisms. Beta-caryophyllene and d-limonene are abundant in aromatic medicinal plants. Beta- caryophyllene can be sourced from clove and cannabis amongst others, and d-limonene is abundant in the Citrus genera. Apart from their use in agriculture, cosmetics, and food industries, these terpenes possess a wide range of therapeutic activities, including antimicrobial, analgesic, and anticancer activities. This review discusses the anticancer effects of these two compounds against malignant tumors including breast, lung, gastrointestinal, bone, blood, endometrial, and bladder cancer. Beta-caryophyllene induces apoptosis and prevents proliferation and metastasis through the downregulation of HSP60, HTRA, survivin, XIAP, Bcl-xL, and Bcl-2 and the upregulation of caspase 3, annexin V, p21, Bad, Bak, and Bax. The anticancer activity is also mediated by G1/M arrest, ROS induction, and JAK1/STAT activation. d-Limonene exerts its anticancer effects by upregulating autophagy-linked genes, Bax, and caspase 3 and downregulating cyclin D1 and Bcl-2. These compounds also elicit synergistic effects upon co-administration with anticancer drugs and show great prospects as useful agents in the fight against cancer.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/apjtb.apjtb_7_25anticancerbeta-caryophyllened-limoneneterpenesdrug discoveryapoptosis
spellingShingle Ololade S. Gbadebo
Elizabeth D. Oke
Felix A. Ajibuwa
Anticancer properties of beta-caryophyllene and d-limonene terpenes: A review
Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
anticancer
beta-caryophyllene
d-limonene
terpenes
drug discovery
apoptosis
title Anticancer properties of beta-caryophyllene and d-limonene terpenes: A review
title_full Anticancer properties of beta-caryophyllene and d-limonene terpenes: A review
title_fullStr Anticancer properties of beta-caryophyllene and d-limonene terpenes: A review
title_full_unstemmed Anticancer properties of beta-caryophyllene and d-limonene terpenes: A review
title_short Anticancer properties of beta-caryophyllene and d-limonene terpenes: A review
title_sort anticancer properties of beta caryophyllene and d limonene terpenes a review
topic anticancer
beta-caryophyllene
d-limonene
terpenes
drug discovery
apoptosis
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/apjtb.apjtb_7_25
work_keys_str_mv AT ololadesgbadebo anticancerpropertiesofbetacaryophylleneanddlimoneneterpenesareview
AT elizabethdoke anticancerpropertiesofbetacaryophylleneanddlimoneneterpenesareview
AT felixaajibuwa anticancerpropertiesofbetacaryophylleneanddlimoneneterpenesareview