癌症是一个严重的全球公共卫生问题，人们已经进行了大量的研究来治疗癌症。其中，发现有效抗癌的有前景的化合物一直是药物研究的主要关注点。鼠尾草酸 (CA) 是一种酚类二萜化合物，广泛存在于迷迭香 (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) 等唇形科植物中。近年来，越来越多的证据表明CA具有显着的抗癌活性，如白血病、结直肠癌、乳腺癌、肺癌、肝癌、胰腺癌、胃癌、淋巴瘤、前列腺癌、口腔癌等。 CA涉及的潜在机制包括抑制细胞增殖、抑制转移、诱导细胞凋亡、刺激自噬、调节免疫系统、减少炎症、调节肠道微生物群以及增强其他抗癌药物的作用。本文对CA的生物合成、药代动力学和代谢、安全性和毒性以及抗癌活性的分子机制和信号通路进行综述。这将有助于开发用于预防和治疗癌症的CA或含CA功能食品，为癌症治疗策略的推进提供重要进展。版权所有©2024作者。由爱思唯尔有限公司出版。保留所有权利。

Cancer is a serious global public health issue, and a great deal of research has been made to treat cancer. Of these, discovery of promising compounds that effectively fight cancer always has been the main point of interest in pharmaceutical research. Carnosic acid (CA) is a phenolic diterpenoid compound widely present in Lamiaceae plants such as Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.). In recent years, there has been increasing evidence that CA has significant anti-cancer activity, such as leukaemia, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer, lymphoma, prostate cancer, oral cancer, etc. The potential mechanisms involved by CA, including inhibiting cell proliferation, inhibiting metastasis, inducing cell apoptosis, stimulating autophagy, regulating the immune system, reducing inflammation, regulating the gut microbiota, and enhancing the effects of other anti-cancer drugs. This article reviews the biosynthesis, pharmacokinetics and metabolism, safety and toxicity, as well as the molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways of the anticancer activity of CA. This will contribute to the development of CA or CA-containing functional foods for the prevention and treatment of cancer, providing important advances in the advancement of cancer treatment strategies.Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.