Background:
Cancer has become a major disease endangering human health around the world. Conventional
chemotherapy suffers from many side effects including
pain,
cardiotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, and renal toxicity. This review aims to describe a natural product of
resveratrol as a chemoprotective and synergistic agent in the modulation of
cancer chemotherapy. Methods: The publications were identified by comprehensive searching of SciFinder, PubMed, Web of Science, and our own reference library. Search terms included combinations of "
resveratrol," "
cancer," "natural products," "
chemotherapy," and "side effects." Selection of material focused on
resveratrol reducing the side effects on
cancer chemotherapy. Results: Thirty one references were referred in this review to outline
resveratrol as a potent chemoprotective and synergistic agent in
cancer chemotherapy, including 22 papers for describing the chemoprotective effects, and 9 papers for illustrating the synergistic effects. Conclusion: This study provides a systematic summary of
resveratrol serving as a potent chemoprotective and synergistic agent to reduce the associated-side effects and enhance the therapeutic outcomes in
cancer chemotherapy. Further studies in terms of
resveratrol on a large amount of preclinical tests and clinical trials are highly demanded.