从植物中筛选有效成分是寻找抗肿瘤药物的一个重要途径。据1971年报导,美国肿瘤化学治疗中心,曾收集世界各地植物进行筛选,已研究了高等植物282科,约48,000个提取物;低等植物98科,约1,000个提取物。其中约160科提取物有抗癌活性,从59科分离到活性物质的结晶,按植物种类计算,含有 Screening active ingredients from plants is an important way to find anti-tumor drugs. According to a report in 1971, the Cancer Chemotherapy Center of the United States, which collected plants from all over the world for screening, has studied 282 families of higher plants, about 48,000 extracts, and 98 families of lower plants, about 1,000 extracts. Among them, about 160 families of extracts have anti-cancer activity, and the crystals of the active substance are isolated from 59 families,