sanguinarine

Sanguinarine is a **benzophenanthridine alkaloid** natural product and **small molecule** quaternary ammonium compound isolated from plants including *Sanguinaria canadensis*, *Chelidonium majus*, and *Macleaya cordata*. It has been studied mainly in **preclinical and academic oncology research** rather than formal commercial drug development, with reported anticancer activity in models of non-small cell lung cancer, cervical cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, and other tumors. Its pharmacology appears **multitarget and pleiotropic**, with published studies describing inhibition of **thioredoxin reductase**, **Aurora kinase A**, **cyclin-dependent kinase 2**, and **Akt signaling**, alongside induction of **reactive oxygen species**, mitochondrial dysfunction, cell-cycle arrest, and apoptosis. Despite this experimental antineoplastic interest, sanguinarine is **not an approved therapeutic agent**, lacks an established branded pharmaceutical program, and has important **toxicity and potential carcinogenicity concerns** that have limited clinical translation.

Other names

sanguinarine