Carvacrol as a Prospective Regulator of Cancer Targets/Signalling Pathways

Background: Carvacrol is a naturally occurring phenolic isopropyl monoterpene isolated from oregano, thyme, pepperwort, ajwain, marjoram, and wild bergamot. It possesses pharmacological activities, including anticancer, anti-genotoxic, and anti-inflammation associated with antioxidant properties. The antioxidant property of carvacrol is found to be accountable for its anticancer property. Thus, the present review summarizes and discusses the anticancer potential of carvacrol, revealing its target, signalling pathways, efficacy, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity. Objective: Carvacrol showed promising activity to be considered in more detail for cancer treatment. This review aimed to summarize the evidence concerning understanding the anticancer potential of carvacrol. However, the mode of action of carvacrol is not yet fully explored and hence requires detailed exploratory studies. This review consists of carvacol’s in vitro, in vivo, preclinical and clinical studies. Method: A literature search was done by searching various online databases like Pubmed, Scopus, and Google Scholar with the specific keyword “Carvacrol,” along with other keywords such as “Antioxidant properties,” “oncology research,” “genotoxicity,” and “anti-inflammatory property.” Results: Carvacrol possesses weak mutagenic and genotoxic potential at nontoxic doses. Carvacrol alone shows the potential to target cancerous cells and significantly deter the growth of cancer cells; this is a targeted method. It offers anti-inflammatory effects by decreasing oxidative stress, which primarily targets ER and mitochondria. Carvacrol depicts targeted explicitly ROS-dependent and mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis in different cancer cells. Moreover, carvacrol significantly regulates the cell cycle and prevents tumor progression. Few reports also suggest its a significant role in inhibiting cell migration, invasion, and angiogenesis in tumor cells. Hence, carvacrol affects cell survival and cell-killing activity by targeting key biomarkers and major signalling pathways, including PI3K/AKT/mTOR, MAPK, STAT3, and Notch. Conclusion: Until now, its anticancer mechanism is not yet fully explored. A limited number of research studies have been done on carvacrol instead of possessing promising anti-cancer potential. It possesses both cancer prevention and cancer therapeutic properties. This molecule needs more validatory research so that it could be analyzed precisely and sensibly