Open Access

REVIEW

ROS Regulation by Natural Products: A Promising Therapeutic Approach for Breast Cancer

YANG-YANG SHUAI^1,2, PEI-PEI WANG¹, HAI-JUN ZHANG², HUI AO^1,*, WEI PENG¹, HONG ZHANG^1,2,*

1 State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, 611137, China
2 College of Life Sciences, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, 235000, China

* Corresponding Authors: HUI AO. Email: ; HONG ZHANG. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Phytochemicals and Bioactive Monomers from Herbal Medicine: Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms)

BIOCELL 2025, 49(12), 2299-2333. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2025.071569

Received 07 August 2025; Accepted 18 September 2025; Issue published 24 December 2025

Abstract

Breast cancer ranks first among cancer-related fatalities and is the most frequent cancer in women globally. ROS plays an important role in controlling the occurrence and progression of breast cancer. Increasing reports suggest that natural products and their derivatives are beneficial for the management of breast cancer via the regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). A summary of the known patterns of natural products that modulate ROS against breast cancer will contribute to the discovery of more natural medicines for clinical applications and the development of new drugs. In this review, the pharmacological effects of more than 40 natural compounds and extracts on the regulation of ROS were evaluated, and these natural products were categorized based on their mechanisms of action. The functional characteristics and primary patterns of action were outlined for natural products as ROS modulators in breast cancer treatment. Natural products can reverse breast cancer progression through the regulation of ROS levels, which is achieved by multiple mechanisms. Targeting ROS regulation with natural products remains a promising therapeutic approach for breast cancer.

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Keywords

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