Bridging Plant Sources and Drug Tests Development: Green and Modern Extraction Technologies for Anticancer Phytochemicals

Abstract

Cancer remains a major global health challenge, creating a continuing need for safer, effective and sustainable therapeutic discovery. Plant-derived phytochemicals have contributed substantially to oncology drug development, and many clinically used anticancer agents originate directly or indirectly from natural products. This review examines the relationship between plant sources, bioprospecting strategies, extraction technologies and drug-test development for anticancer phytochemicals. It discusses major classes of anticancer plant metabolites, including alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, phenolic compounds and lignans, with emphasis on their reported roles in apoptosis induction, proliferation control, oxidative stress modulation, anti-inflammatory activity and interference with cancer-related signalling pathways. Conventional extraction methods, including maceration, Soxhlet extraction, hydrodistillation and solvent extraction, are considered alongside green and advanced technologies such as supercritical fluid extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, pressurised liquid extraction, enzyme-assisted extraction and deep eutectic solvent systems. The review further links extraction quality to bioassay-guided fractionation, chemical characterisation, metabolomic profiling, in vitro anticancer screening, in vivo validation and preclinical development. Overall, the manuscript highlights that no single extraction technology is universally optimal; rather, method selection should depend on compound polarity, stability, yield, reproducibility, environmental acceptability and scalability. Integrating sustainable extraction technologies with standardised pharmacological testing may strengthen the development pathway for plant-derived anticancer therapeutics.