Microtubules are polar cytoskeletal filaments assembled from head-to-tail and comprised of lateral associations of α/β-tubulin heterodimers that play key role in various cellular processes. Because of their vital role in mitosis and various other cellular processes, microtubules have been attractive targets for several disease conditions and especially for cancer. Antitubulin is the most successful class of antimitotic agents in cancer chemotherapeutics. The target recognition of antimitotic agents as a ligand is not much explored so far. However, 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl fragment has been much highlighted and discussed in such type of interactions. In this review, some of the most important naturally occurring antimitotic agents and their interactions with microtubules are discussed with a special emphasis on the role of 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl unit. At last, some emerging naturally occurring antimitotic agents have also been tabulated.

微管是从头到尾组装的极性细胞骨架丝，由在各种细胞过程中起关键作用的α/β-微管蛋白异二聚体的横向缔合组成。由于微管在有丝分裂和各种其他细胞过程中的重要作用，它们已成为多种疾病，尤其是癌症的诱人靶标。抗微管蛋白是癌症化学疗法中最成功的抗有丝分裂剂。迄今为止，关于抗有丝分裂剂作为配体的靶标识别尚不多见。然而，在这种类型的相互作用中，3,4,5-三甲氧基苯基片段已被大量强调和讨论。在这篇综述中，讨论了一些最重要的天然抗有丝分裂剂及其与微管的相互作用，并特别强调了3,4,5-三甲氧基苯基单元的作用。