Leukemia is a leukocyte cancer that is characterized by anarchic growth of immature immune cells in the bone marrow, blood and spleen. There are many forms of leukemia, and the best course of therapy and the chance of a patient’s survival depend on the type of leukemic disease. Different forms of drugs have been used to treat leukemia. Due to the adverse effects associated with such therapies and drug resistance, the search for safer and more effective drugs remains one of the most challenging areas of research. Thus, new therapeutic approaches are important to improving outcomes. Almost half of the drugs utilized nowadays in treating cancer are from natural products and their derivatives. Medicinal plants have proven to be an effective natural source of anti-leukemic drugs. The cytotoxicity and the mechanisms underlying the toxicity of these plants to leukemic cells and their isolated compounds were investigated. Effort has been made throughout this comprehensive review to highlight the recent developments and milestones achieved in leukemia therapies using plant-derived compounds and the crude extracts from various medicinal plants. Furthermore, the mechanisms of action of these plants are discussed.

Acacia Seyal gum (ASG), also known as gum Arabic, is an antioxidant-rich soluble fiber. ASG has been reported to have many biological activities, including anticancer, antidiabetic, antiulcer, and immunomodulatory activity. Extraction of bioactive compounds from ASG is commonly performed using conventional extraction methods. However, these techniques have certain limitation in terms of extraction time, energy, and solvent requirements. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) could be used as an alternative technique to extract bioactive compounds in less time, at low temperature, and with less energy and solvent requirements. In this study, the UAE extraction of ASG was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). A face-centered central composite design (FCCCD) was used to monitor the effect of different independent factors of ultrasound operation (sonication time, temperature, and solvent ratio) on ASG extraction yield. In addition, screening and characterization of phytochemicals in 60% ethanol ASG extract was carried out using Raman microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (GC-TOFMS) analysis. The results indicated that, under optimal conditions (extraction time 45 min, extraction temperature 40 °C, and solid–liquid ratio of 1:25 g/mL), the yield of ASG was 75.87% ± 0.10. This yield was reasonably close to the predicted yield of 75.39% suggested by the design of experiment. The ANOVA revealed that the model was highly significant due to the low probability value (p < 0.0001). Raman spectrum fingerprint detected polysaccharides, such as galactose and glucose, and protein like lysine and proline, while FTIR spectrum revealed the presence of functional groups peaks value of alkanes, aldehydes, aliphatic amines, and phenol. GC-TOFMS spectroscopic detected the presence of strong d-galactopyranose, carotenoid, and lycopene antioxidant compounds. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the UAE technique is an efficient method to achieve a high yield of ASG extracts. The selected model is adequate to optimize the extraction of several chemical compounds reported in this study.

Today, many therapy drugs have been used to treat cancer patients. However, those drugs are not effective enough and usually have adverse side effects on human health. Different herbal medicine is rising in popularity because it is more compatible with the human body and has fewer side effects. Even while alternative herbal remedies effectively decrease symptoms in traditional medicine, many of them have yet to be scientifically proven. As a result, it's critical to keep looking for ways to recover its efficiency against cancer cells. Acacia seyal gum (ASG), known as Arabic gum, is a well-known traditional medicinal therapy with various restorative characteristics. In this study, the yield of ASG extract was optimized using experimental design followed by chemical characterization of a bioactive compound for the last yield, then the therapeutic potential of ASG crude extracts against leukemia cancer cells was investigated in vitro. The Raman Spectroscopy (RS), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, and GC-TOFMS analyses were used to characterize ASG crude hydroethanolic extract bioactive components. The anti-leukemic activity of ASG crude extracts was investigated in vitro against tumoral Jurkat T-cell ALL, and K562 leukemia cancer cell lines, as well as nontumoral WIL2NS cells. The optimum extraction conditions resulted in a yield of 75.89% after 45 min of extraction at temperature 40 °C and solid/liquid ratio of 1:25 g/ml. The cytotoxicity assays of ASG and Taxol revealed that both treatments inhibited the growth of K562 and Jurkat T cancer cells and exhibited the lowest IC50 for K562 and Jurkat T cancer cell (IC50=10 g/ml and IC50=5.11 g/ml, respectively), and a negligible inhibition effect for WIL2NS cells (IC50=80 g/ml).