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Review
. 2016 Jan 19;21(1):E108.
doi: 10.3390/molecules21010108.

Application of Bioactive Quercetin in Oncotherapy: From Nutrition to Nanomedicine

Ju-Suk Nam  1 , Ashish Ranjan Sharma  2 , Lich Thi Nguyen  3 , Chiranjib Chakraborty  4 , Garima Sharma  5   6 , Sang-Soo Lee  7
Affiliations
Review

Application of Bioactive Quercetin in Oncotherapy: From Nutrition to Nanomedicine

Ju-Suk Nam et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Phytochemicals as dietary constituents are being explored for their cancer preventive properties. Quercetin is a major constituent of various dietary products and recently its anti-cancer potential has been extensively explored, revealing its anti-proliferative effect on different cancer cell lines, both in vitro and in vivo. Quercetin is known to have modulatory effects on cell apoptosis, migration and growth via various signaling pathways. Though, quercetin possesses great medicinal value, its applications as a therapeutic drug are limited. Problems like low oral bioavailability and poor aqueous solubility make quercetin an unreliable candidate for therapeutic purposes. Additionally, the rapid gastrointestinal digestion of quercetin is also a major barrier for its clinical translation. Hence, to overcome these disadvantages quercetin-based nanoformulations are being considered in recent times. Nanoformulations of quercetin have shown promising results in its uptake by the epithelial system as well as enhanced delivery to the target site. Herein we have tried to summarize various methods utilized for nanofabrication of quercetin formulations and for stable and sustained delivery of quercetin. We have also highlighted the various desirable measures for its use as a promising onco-therapeutic agent.

Keywords: anticancer; bioavailability; nanoformulation; oncotherapy; phytochemical; quercetin.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cellular processes modulated by quercetin (↓: downregulate and ↑: upregulate).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Structure of quercetin and its derivatives.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Limitations of quercetin as an anti-cancer drug.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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