Valorization of Lipopeptides Biosurfactants as Anticancer Agents

TLDR: The properties of biologically-produced biosurfactants and their antitumor activities against distinctive cancer models are discussed and their potential mechanisms are underlined and light is shed on the discovery of new active bioproducts.

Abstract: Biosurfactants are natural compounds produced biologically by certain bacterial strains. They are promising alternatives in several applications due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability and reduced toxicity. Systemic toxicity problems and drug resistance in tumor chemotherapy are urging the continued discovery of new antitumor agents. Biosurfactants have significant effect in inhibiting multiple tumor types. Specifically, surfactin, iturin, and fengycin lipopeptide biosurfactant were previously produced from several bacterial species belonging to Bacillus genus. Only few previous studies investigated their cytotoxicity against some tumor types such as breast, colon, leukemia, hepatoma and others. Due to the probability of being potential antitumor treatments, biosurfactants nanoparticles could be clinically recommended. This review discussed the properties of biologically-produced biosurfactants and their antitumor activities against distinctive cancer models. Additionally, it underlines their potential mechanisms and sheds light on the discovery of new active bioproducts.