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Review
. 2022 Aug 15;22(1):257.
doi: 10.1186/s12935-022-02677-w.

Potential mechanisms of quercetin in cancer prevention: focus on cellular and molecular targets

Parina Asgharian #  1   2 , Abbas Pirpour Tazekand #  3 , Kamran Hosseini  4   5 , Haleh Forouhandeh  6 , Tohid Ghasemnejad  6 , Maryam Ranjbar  6 , Muzaffar Hasan  7 , Manoj Kumar  8 , Sohrab Minaei Beirami  9 , Vahideh Tarhriz  10 , Saiedeh Razi Soofiyani  11   12 , Latipa Kozhamzharova  13 , Javad Sharifi-Rad  14 , Daniela Calina  15 , William C Cho  16
Affiliations
Review

Potential mechanisms of quercetin in cancer prevention: focus on cellular and molecular targets

Parina Asgharian et al. Cancer Cell Int. .

Abstract

Over the past few years, the cancer-related disease has had a high mortality rate and incidence worldwide, despite clinical advances in cancer treatment. The drugs used for cancer therapy, have high side effects in addition to the high cost. Subsequently, to reduce these side effects, many studies have suggested the use of natural bioactive compounds. Among these, which have recently attracted the attention of many researchers, quercetin has such properties. Quercetin, a plant flavonoid found in fresh fruits, vegetables and citrus fruits, has anti-cancer properties by inhibiting tumor proliferation, invasion, and tumor metastasis. Several studies have demonstrated the anti-cancer mechanism of quercetin, and these mechanisms are controlled through several signalling pathways within the cancer cell. Pathways involved in this process include apoptotic, p53, NF-κB, MAPK, JAK/STAT, PI3K/AKT, and Wnt/β-catenin pathways. In addition to regulating these pathways, quercetin controls the activity of oncogenic and tumor suppressor ncRNAs. Therefore, in this comprehensive review, we summarized the regulation of these signalling pathways by quercetin. The modulatory role of quercetin in the expression of various miRNAs has also been discussed. Understanding the basic anti-cancer mechanisms of these herbal compounds can help prevent and manage many types of cancer.

Keywords: Malignant tumors; Molecular targets; Pharmacology; Quercetin; Signalling pathways.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The most important signalling pathways affected by quercetin during cancer prevention. A) Wnt/β catenin pathway; quercetin inhibits the β-catenin translocation in nucleus, B) PI3K/Akt pathway; inhibition of phosphorylation of PI3k, Akt and S6K, C) JAK/STAT pathway; inhibit the p-STAT formation; D) MAPK pathway; induced phosphorylation of p38, JNK and ERK, E) p53 pathway; induced phosphorylation of p53 and induced the apoptosis pathway
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Regulation of miRNAs by quercetin and its role in various cancer types. Abbreviations and symbols: ↑ increase, ↓decrease
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The chemical structure of the flavonol quercetin (3,3′,4′,5,7-pentahydroxyflavone) and potential structure-anticancer activity relationship. Symbol: ⊥ inhibition
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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