癌症是全球死亡率最高的原因之一，迫切需要改善治疗策略并找出有效的化疗药物。本研究旨在探讨来自某些植物的天然产物红花酸酯作为抗癌剂的潜力。通过对现有文献进行广泛的回顾，收集和分析了关于红花酸酯的化学性质及其在不同体外和体内研究中观察到的效果的最新数据。本研究特别关注红花酸酯对细胞周期动态、凋亡、半胱氨酸蛋白酶和抗氧化酶水平、肿瘤血管生成、炎症和整体肿瘤生长的影响。红花酸酯展示了多种抗肿瘤活性，包括抑制肿瘤细胞增殖、诱导凋亡、抑制血管生成和增强化疗。它还调节了多个细胞和分子途径，如PI3K/Akt、MAPK和NF-κB。红花酸酯展示了有希望的抗癌特性，并在肿瘤学中作为辅助或替代疗法具有潜力。需要进行更大规模的严格设计的临床试验来建立治疗方案，并确定红花酸酯在不同类型癌症中的全面益处和安全性。© 2023. 作者，独家许可给Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany的一部分，属于Springer Nature。

With cancer being a leading cause of death globally, there is an urgent need to improve therapeutic strategies and identify effective chemotherapeutics. This study aims to highlight the potential of crocetin, a natural product derived from certain plants, as an anticancer agent. It was  conducted an extensive review of the existing literature to gather and analyze the most recent data on the chemical properties of crocetin and its observed effects in various in vitro and in vivo studies. The study  particularly focused on studies that examined crocetin's impact on cell cycle dynamics, apoptosis, caspases and antioxidant enzyme levels, tumor angiogenesis, inflammation, and overall tumor growth. Crocetin exhibited diverse anti-tumorigenic activities including inhibition of tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis induction, angiogenesis suppression, and potentiation of chemotherapy. Multiple cellular and molecular pathways such as the PI3K/Akt, MAPK and NF-κB were modulated by it. Crocetin demonstrates promising anti-cancer properties and offers potential as an adjunctive or alternative therapy in oncology. More large-scale, rigorously designed clinical trials are needed to establish therapeutic protocols and ascertain the comprehensive benefits and safety profile of crocetin in diverse cancer types.© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.