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Review
. 2024 Jul 2;46(7):6783-6804.
doi: 10.3390/cimb46070405.

A Comprehensive View on the Impact of Chlorogenic Acids on Colorectal Cancer

Andreea-Adriana Neamțu  1   2   3   4 , Teodor Andrei Maghiar  5   6   7 , Violeta Turcuș  8   9 , Paula Bianca Maghiar  5   6   7 , Anca-Maria Căpraru  4   10 , Bianca-Andreea Lazar  4 , Cristina-Adriana Dehelean  1   2 , Ovidiu Laurean Pop  11 , Carmen Neamțu  3   8 , Bogdan Dan Totolici  3   8 , Endre Mathe  8   12
Affiliations
Review

A Comprehensive View on the Impact of Chlorogenic Acids on Colorectal Cancer

Andreea-Adriana Neamțu et al. Curr Issues Mol Biol. .

Abstract

Chlorogenic acids are plant secondary metabolites, chemically-polyphenols with similar biological activity, formed through the esterification of quinic acid and hydrocinnamic acid moieties. They are best known for their high concentration in coffee and other dietary sources and the antioxidant properties that they exhibit. Both chlorogenic acids and plant extracts containing significant amounts of the compounds show promising in vitro activity against colorectal cancer. With coffee being the most popular drink in the world, and colorectal cancer at an unfortunate peak in incidence and mortality, the mechanisms through which the anti-tumorigenic effect of chlorogenic acids could be functionalized for CRC prevention seem appealing to study. Therefore, this review aims to enable a better understanding of the modes of action of chlorogenic acids in combating carcinogenesis, with a focus on cell cycle arrest, the induction of apoptosis, and the modulation of Wnt, Pi3K/Akt, and MAPK signal transduction pathways, alongside the reduction in the number of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines and the counterintuitive beneficial elevation of oxidative stress.

Keywords: caffeoylquinic acids; chlorogenic acids; colorectal cancer; hydrocoumaric acids.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Search methodology for the systematic review of literature.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chemical structures of the subunits forming chlorogenic acids, and the most abundant subclass representatives: 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid (chlorogenic acid), 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid (neochlorogenic acid), and 4-O-caffeoylquinic acid (cryptochlorogenic acid).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Hypothesized mechanisms of reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging employed by CGAs. Direct mechanisms: (A) hydrogen atom transfer (HAT); (B) radical adduct formation (RAF). Indirect mechanism: (C) metal chelation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Proposed scheme of the initial step in the biosynthesis of chlorogenic acids, using phenylalanine (Phe) and tyrosine (Tyr) as substrates, which are initially transformed into p-coumaric acid.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Proposed scheme of the biosynthesis of chlorogenic acids, focused on 5-caffeoylquinic acid, through shikimic acid metabolism.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Proposed scheme of the biosynthesis of chlorogenic acids, focused on 5-caffeoylquinic acid, through quinic acid metabolism.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Proposed scheme of the bioavailability (digestion, absorption and metabolism) of chlorogenic acids, focused on 5-caffeoylquinic acid.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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