癌症是全球死亡的主要原因之一，然而目前已批准用于癌症治疗的药物常伴随着显著副作用，迫切需要开发副作用低的替代药物。多糖是一种天然聚合物，具有酮或醛基团，在植物中广泛存在，并具有免疫调节、抗肿瘤和降血脂等各种生物活性。较低等植物因其出色的抗癌效果而受到广泛关注，许多研究表明，药用较低等植物多糖（MLPPs）对多种癌症具有抗肿瘤活性，并有望成为食品和药品领域潜在发展的有希望的替代品。因此，本综述描述了具有抗肿瘤活性的MLPPs的结构和作用机制。此外，讨论了MLPPs在癌症治疗中的应用，并探讨了MLPPs的未来发展。版权所有 © 2023. Elsevier B.V.出版。

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, yet the drugs currently approved for cancer treatment are associated with significant side effects, making it urgent to develop alternative drugs with low side effects. Polysaccharides are natural polymers with ketone or aldehyde groups, which are widely found in plants and have various biological activities such as immunomodulation, antitumor and hypolipidemic. The lower plants have attracted much attention for their outstanding anti-cancer effects, and many studies have shown that medicinal lower plant polysaccharides (MLPPs) have anti-tumor activity against various cancers and are promising alternatives with potential development in the food and pharmaceutical fields. Therefore, this review describes the structure and mechanism of action of MLPPs with antitumor activity. In addition, the application of MLPPs in cancer treatment is discussed, and the future development of MLPPs is explored.Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.