Anticancer and apoptosis inducing potential of quercetin against a wide range of human malignancies

Abstract

Quercetin, a flavonoid, is a dietary component that has attracted the attention of dietitians and medicinal chemists due to its anticancer potential. It is an antioxidant that has a significant role in reducing different human cancers such as breast, pancreatic, prostate, colon, blood, and oral. Being as an additional anti-cancer agent, it can stop cancer cell invasion and metastasis, induce apoptosis and autophagy, decrease cancer cell growth and proliferation. Multiple mechanisms, including suppression of pathways involved in cell survival, angiogenesis, and inflammation, are thought to be responsible for these anticancer effects. Quercetin has anti-inflammatory properties in both in vitro and in vivo tests, which is important as chronic inflammation is a major contributor to cancer. Preventing the synthesis of cytokines and chemokines that encourage inflammation can support to lessen inflammation and stop the spread of cancer. In cancer cells, quercetin can cause programmed cell death, which can stop the cells from rapidly multiplying and replicating. It provides protection against degradation of DNA induced by radiation and other carcinogens. The PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway, the NF-κB system, and the Wnt/β-catenin pathway is few of the signaling pathways that quercetin modulates. It can activate the process of autophagy, which breaks the growth and range of cancer by having cells terminate and recover damaged or unwanted cellular mechanisms. The best treatment plans for various cancer kinds will need to be determined through additional research, which will also help confirm its safety and effectiveness in humans.