3Departamento de Antibióticos, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco,

Abstract: The plants used in traditional medicine have been considered an important source of molecules with pharmacological activity, including antitumor. The aim of this study was to present a pharmacological description and the phytochemical components related to antitumor activity of thirty plants commonly cited in Brazil to treat tumors as well as offering an overview of approaches that are necessary for the development of herbal medicines from these resources. In the search for studies with these plants, fi ve database were used (SciELO, Scirus, Scopus, Biological Abstracts and Web of Science)