Review Deciphering the Anticancer Efficacy of Bibenzyl Derivatives of Dendrobium Species in Lung Carcinoma.

Metastasis of lung carcinoma is a significant contributor to elevated mortality rates. Globally, it is one of the most fatal carcinomas in terms of mortality and incidence. Despite extensive studies, treatment of lung cancer remains ineffective because of severe side effects and multidrug resistance. Herbal drugs have been documented to augment the effectiveness of conventional therapies, enhance patients' quality of life, and alleviate chemotherapy-related adverse effects. This review describes the therapeutic potential of Dendrobium plants for the management of lung carcinoma. Dendrobium is comprised of polysaccharides, alkaloids, bibenzyl, sesquiterpenes, phenanthrene, polyphenols, and other chemical compounds. Dendrobium exhibits antitumor properties by suppressing tumor cell proliferation and metastasis, facilitating apoptosis and ferroptosis, and enhancing cellular sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents. Some of the bibenzyls, including erianin and gigantol, displayed inhibitory potential in NSCLC models via targeting the PI3K/AKT and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways and inducing apoptosis and ferroptosis. Therefore, a comprehensive examination of dendrobium mechanisms and bibenzyl compounds in relation to lung cancer needs to be explored. This review sought to assess the anti-lung cancer potential of bibenzyl compounds from Dendrobium, which has been less reported. Keywords employed in this literature search were "dendrobium," "bibenzyl," and "lung cancer," using SciFinder, Google Scholar, NCBI, PubMed, and Embase, which encompass articles from 2010 to 2025.